


Shortest of Short Stories in Designation Miracle (Volume 3!)

by umisabaku



Series: Designation: Miracle [11]
Category: Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2018-10-19 11:46:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 86
Words: 50,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10639212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umisabaku/pseuds/umisabaku
Summary: A collection of very short stories set in the Designation: Miracle universe, as requested by kind people on tumblr.





	1. Mundane Tasks

“Shin-chan, a little help?”

“Don’t be lazy, Takao.”

“Oh, excuse you,” Takao says indignantly, “Just yesterday you didn’t want to carry your bag so you were floating it above your head the entire time. It freaked the hell out of some First Years, who thought we had ghosts.”

“That was different,” Midorima sniffs. “I had my hands full. I had to carry my lucky item.”

Takao rolls his eyes. It had been an obscenely large raccoon statue, and Midorima had done his best to convince Takao to carry it, but Takao refused. “The point it, you use your powers all the time.”

“I am not going to summon your lunch just because you are too lazy to walk to the kitchen.”

“Shin-chan,” Takao pouts, “Your loving boyfriend carries you around on a rickshaw all the time. The least you could do is bring me the sandwich my mother left for me on the counter. Besides, I’m comfortable where I am. Aren’t you?” He waggles his eyebrows up at his boyfriend, who doesn’t blush exactly, but does look away, faintly embarrassed.

“You two are disgusting,” Ayumi says as she walks into the room. Takao is currently sprawled on the couch, using Midorima’s lap as a pillow.

“Ayumi! Go bring me my sandwich.”

“No! Go get it yourself!”

“Bring me my sandwich and I won’t tell mom what you got on your math test.”

“Guh! You are the _worst!_ ” But she storms into the kitchen, so Takao counts this as his win.

*

“Where did you get that?” Momoi demands.

“Kyoto,” Aomine says, shoving the rest of the burger in his mouth.

“You went to Kyoto without telling me?” she says hotly. “I would have asked you to bring back some Kyo-wagashi.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Aomine says. “You would have given me a huge shopping list, and I wanted to make this a quick trip.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be using your powers like that anyway,” Momoi says.

“Yeah, OK,” Aomine scoffs. “And how did you make enough money to buy that Coach bag?”

Momoi pretends she didn’t hear the question.

*

“Kuroko, you jerk, quit using me as a distraction.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami snorts, because he has long since come to recognize the difference between when Kuroko’s natural lack of presence and when Kuroko is actually deliberately using his powers to get through a crowd. Both times, Kuroko usually depends on Kagami to draw the attention of others.

“Did you at least bring me back something?”

“What kind of boyfriend do you think I am?” Kuroko asks, dropping the shopping bag with their lunch in it.

Kagami can’t help but think about how Kuroko’s ability would be incredibly useful in LA.

 


	2. Kuroko's Scars

Kuroko doesn’t ever show his scars in public, and at first, Kagami is too terrified to ask why. It seems like such an obvious reason, and even Kagami isn’t so tactless that he would bring it up. It’s only later, when Kagami knows Kuroko better, that he’s pretty sure he _does_ know the reason why Kuroko hides his scars, and he knows it’s not what he first assumed.

Casually, he says, “You don’t always have to cover up your wrists, you know.”

He doesn’t miss the way Kuroko touches his wrists, almost automatically. But Kuroko stills his hands, as if he catches what he’s doing and forces himself to stop. “I do not wish to have to explain myself, Kagami-kun. People would have questions.”

_That’s not why,_ Kagami thinks, and he’s absolutely certain now. “You’re not—you’re not in Teiko anymore.” And then, because he figures there’s no point in beating around the bush, he lays it all out there. “You don’t have to hide anymore. It’s OK if people notice you.”

Kuroko touches his wrists again, and this time he doesn’t put his hands down. Kuroko’s whole life depended on not drawing attention to himself. His powers were most effective if people never noticed him.

And the scars on his wrists were pretty damn noticeable.

“I know that, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says finally. “But I like not being noticed. It is a useful ability, even now.”

Kuroko had once said that he liked his expressionless demeanor because it was a remnant of his triumph over Teiko. But Kagami can’t help but feel like maybe there’s still a part of Kuroko that thinks he needs to be prepared for anything. That Kuroko’s reluctance to draw attention to himself stems from the fact that at any given moment, he’s prepared to disappear. It’s a scary thought, but mostly it just makes Kagami incredibly sad to think that Kuroko still doesn’t feel safe.

*

He rethinks everything once he sees Kuroko’s brand.

They’re living together at this point, and they’re so comfortable with each other that Kagami’s not afraid to ask anything. He runs a finger down the bumps and indents on Kuroko’s skin. “You never told me.”

“We all have them,” Kuroko says softly. “It cannot come as much of a surprise.”

The terrible thing is, after knowing all the stuff about what Teiko did, it really doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Kagami rests his hand on Kuroko’s thigh. “You—”

“It is just a mark, Kagami-kun. You do not have to look so sad.”

“You didn’t ever talk about it,” Kagami says, his voice breaking and he has to look away so he doesn’t start crying. “You hide your scars and you don’t talk about it—”

“Because there is no point,” Kuroko breaks in. “Some things are better left hidden. Somethings are better left unsaid.”

_Somethings are better left forgotten._

Kagami bends down to wrap his arms around Kuroko and hold on tight like he’s never going to let go. He won’t forget, not ever.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for the Miracle Boyfriends discovering the scars on the Miracles (for the ones we haven't seen yet).


	3. KiKasa and IwaOI

“We are going to crush them.”

“You’re getting awfully competitive about a game where we literally just made up the rules five seconds ago,” Iwaizumi remarks.

“Iwa-chan, there is no point in playing anything without performing our absolute best. And also, we need to prove that we are better than those basketball players, don’t you think?”

“We have basketball players on our team,” Iwaizumi points out. “They have volleyball players on _their_ team. The whole point of this absurd made-up game is so that we’re working together.”

“Alright, fine, we have to prove we’re better than the Miracle.”

This makes even _less_ sense, and Iwaizumi resists the urge to throttle his captain. “The only reason _any_ of us are here is because _you_ wanted to support the Miracles.”

“Right,” Oikawa says. “We supported them, and now we’re going to make sure we prove we’re the best.”

Iwaizumi just stares at him. “Why are you like this?”

*

“I don’t like him,” Kise announces.

“Huh?”

“He’s too pretty,” Kise says.

Kasamatsu frowns and follows Kise’s glare to the captain of the current Basket-Volleyball team they’ve been playing against. He’s had some solid moves and got past Kise a few times. “That’s a weird thing for _you_ to say,” Kasamatsu says. “Besides, I think he’s a lot like you.”

“What! Senpai, how can you say that? He is _nothing_ like me! He seems far too frivolous.”

“Right,” Kasamatsu says. “Bit like you.”

“ _Senpai,”_ Kise whines. “Look at him! He’s clearly smarmy. He flirts too much and also he _smirks._ People shouldn’t smirk all the time.”

“So… exactly like you?”

Kise continues to pout, with a wide-eyed puppy-dog look that creates the perfect picture of injured prettiness.

“Can’t even tell the difference, really,” Kasamatsu continues, “Maybe I should go ask _him_ out, he looks like my type, and maybe he’d be better about picking his clothes off the floor—”

“Senpai!!!”

*

“Wow, where did they even come from?” Kasamatsu remarks, marveling at the fact that a crowd of girls have already encircled Oikawa.

“They just sort of pop up out of nowhere, like fruit flies,” Iwaizumi says, resignedly. “Although, I do think some of them were originally here for your boy.”

Kasamatsu twitches slightly at the idea of Kise as “his boy” and carries on with, “Well, that’s even more impressive. I didn’t think anyway could pull fans away from Kise. That’s a definite testament to the charming abilities _your boy_ has.”

Iwaizumi, to his credit, only nods apologetically, as if acknowledging his own fault. “Yeah. It’s pretty annoying. Doesn’t help that he _panders_ to his fans, you know?”

“Oh, for sure. Kise’s a model too, so we get it _everywhere._ And it’s kind of obnoxious, because you almost have no room to complain because he’s still incredibly talented at basketball,” Kasamatsu says, like a man who has never kicked his underclassman for pandering to his fans.

“Right. There’s no denying Oikawa is the best setter in the prefecture, so it is really hard to object to his crazy,” Iwaizumi agrees, like a man who has never thrown a volleyball at his friend’s head.

“ _You’re_ obviously really talented, though,” Kasamatsu says. “Your reflexes are amazing.”

“Thanks, back at you. Have you ever thought about playing volleyball?”

“Eh, not my sport.”

“Fair enough.”

*

“I don’t like you,” Kise says.

“I don’t like _you,_ pretty boy,” Oikawa says.

“And if that spikey haired guy gets any closer to Senpai, I’m going to kick his ass.”

“If you hurt Iwa-chan, I’ll destroy you,” Oikawa says with a smile.

Kise eyes Oikawa and gets the feeling that Oikawa might be a human, but he was a human who knew how to do unpleasant things in the dark without anyone ever knowing what was happening. Oikawa, on the other hand, is realizing there were a lot more unpleasant geniuses besides Kageyama and he _almost_ wishes Kise did play volleyball, if only so Oikawa could have the satisfaction of making him cry in public.

“Keep him away from Senpai and we’ll call a truce?” Kise offers.

“Deal, but only because I’m feeling generous since my team beat yours.”

“Only _once_ and I demand a rematch!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for KiKasa and IwaOi interacting during the part scene in "Don't Blink" -- which is something I always wanted to do =D
> 
> ...Also realizing I used the line "Why are you like this?" for Iwaizumi and Oikawa in the lazertag story. Apparently my brain really likes that line for the two of them, so I'm sticking with. Promise not to use it in a third story. For those two, at any rate.


	4. Akashi and Children

“Akashi…are you _scared_ of the four year old?”

Akashi pulls himself up with all the injured dignity of a cat. “No. Don’t be ridiculous, Furi. I just do not see the point of interacting with creatures whose cognitive capabilities have not fully developed yet. Please take it away now.”

“ _I_ don’t know his parents! That would be weird. I’m pretty sure there are rules about interacting with other people’s kids.” Furihata looks down at the sticky four-year-old boy, who is staring up at both of them wide-eyed, gnawing on a popsicle.

“Furihata,” Akashi says, his voice slightly odd. “Do you not know how to take care of children?”

“Well, not particularly,” Furihata says, sounding doubtful. “I mean, I’ve never really been around kids all that much. All my cousins are around my age, and it’s not like I have any nieces or nephews, so I just never had much opportunity to interact with them.” The kid is getting closer to them so Furihata smiles encouragingly. “Hi!” He wants to pat the kid on the head, but again, he’s pretty sure you’re not supposed to just touch strangers’ kids, even if the woman had left the boy under Akashi’s watchful eye.

“I see,” Akashi says, moving slightly back in a way that was almost unnoticeable. “I was somewhat counting on the fact that you would know how to handle children.”

“Why?” Furihata asks quizzically. Akashi doesn’t respond right away, but the child takes another step forward and Akashi takes another step back almost automatically, and then it clicks. “You _are_ scared of kids!”

“I am not afraid of anything,” Akashi seethes.

“You are!” Then the rest of it falls in place. “Wait, were you expecting _me_ to do all the parenting? Of any hypothetical future children?”

“Not all of it,” Akashi replies stiffly. “Just until they’re about thirteen. Then I am sure I would be able to do my fair share of the responsibilities.”

“Akashi!”

“Or we could adopt after they are already in their teens, as my father did. That seems like the most reasonable solution.”

“I can’t believe you!” Furihata is equal parts thrilled by the fact that Akashi has been thinking about their relationship in long enough terms that he’s imagining children, but also super irritated that he had been slotted as the sole caregiver for all children under twelve. He bends down to the small child and says, “How are you?”

The small child stares at Akashi. “He’s very red.”

“He is!” Furihata says gleefully. “You should go give the red onii-chan a very big hug.”

The boy giggles and flings his sticky self (complete with popsicle) at Akashi, who is visibly flustered as he tries to escape, “Stop! Don’t touch me– ack.”

Furihata laughs at the expression on Akashi’s face– he’s never seen Akashi so off-balance before. Since Akashi didn’t actually Order the child away, Furihata figures their future children will be OK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for a flustered Akashi around children =D


	5. Rakuzan vs Seirin

“OK, team, we have an important issue discuss before this game,” Nebuya states during their pre-game huddle. “Namely, the fact that two out of five starters want to bone someone on the Seirin team.”

“Ooh, better make that three,” Reo says.

“ _Mibuchi,_ ” Nebuya exclaims, sounding extraordinarily betrayed.

Reo shrugs. “I’m not confessing undying love or anything. I’m just saying, if we’re drawing the line between people who have and have not had prolonged sexual fantasies about someone on the Seirin team, then I definitely fall on the side of the haves.”

“ _No one here needed to know that,_ ” Nebuya says.

“Dude, this is feeling a little homophobic,” Hayama says. “Just because I have a crush on Izuki doesn’t mean I can’t play right. I’ve been attracted to lots of people we play against and we always win.”

“Hey, I’m not homophobic!” Nebuya insists. “This is a justifiable concern! After we lost to Seirin last year, you got super horny, and I’m just saying, that compromises things.”

“I don’t see how, I get horny over lots of stuff,” Hayama says. “Like winning; winning makes me super horny. Either way, this game ends with me wanting to bang.”

“OK, I’m not sitting next to you on the bus when we head home,” Nebuya says.

“Homophobe,” Hayama declares.

“I’m not! I’m trying to look after the team!”

“Kota-chan will be fine,” Reo says. “The bigger problem is Sei-chan.”

“Excuse me,” Akashi says, his voice polite and vaguely threatening, “Absolutely nothing will ever get in my way of pursuing victory.”

“You’re kind of whipped, dude,” Nebuya says, “Are you really going to claim you can crush Seirin if your boy starts crying?”

“Furihata is not going to cry,” Akashi says, still with that menacing tone that even the most hardened of men would flinch away from. Then he smiles serenely and says, “And I think I will quite enjoy consoling him through their loss.”

“Oooh, Sei-chan, you’re such an ‘S,’” Reo says.

“My sexual proclivities are not up for discussion before a game,” Akashi says. “Nebuya, your complaint has been registered and we will file it away for further review at a later point.”

“What, like at a club meeting? Item one, discuss appropriate levels of sexual arousal during a basketball game?” Nebuya asks.

“I really miss not being a starter,” Matsushima Yoshito, newest Power Forward on the Rakuzan team, says sadly. “These kinds of things never came up on the bench.”

“Well, we miss Mayuzumi, he was a lot sassier. You need to up your sass, Power Forward,” Hayama says.

“Are you guys done yet?” Shirogane demands, breaking up their huddle for tip-off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was how a Seirin vs Rakuzan team would go now that Akashi and Furihata are dating, and I can't resist Rakuzan interactions.


	6. I Have Never

They had all, up until this point, unanimously steered away from any statement that might bring up the general awkwardness of two Club members possessing very unusual circumstances with their childhood as well as anything too raunchy, largely because everyone was keenly aware of Momoi’s presence.

So, all in all, the game had been fairly tame so far, and Momoi felt like it was her responsibility to start the ball rolling, so to speak, if they were ever going to fully bond as a team, so she declares, “Never have I ever had sex.”

“Momoi-san,” Sakurai says feebly, but then Imayoshi picks up one of the lemon slices and bites into it, much to the consternation of the rest of the team.

“Oh, you have not, you liar,” Susa says.

“You don’t know everything about me,” Imayoshi says mildly, and then he spits out the lemon peel. (In the absence of alcohol, given that they were all underage, cutting up the lemons Momoi had brought for practice seemed like a suitable punishment).

“ _I_ didn’t know that,” Ryou says, looking hurtfully at his cousin.

“You _definitely_ don’t know everything about me,” Imayoshi says.

“I live with you, and I don’t believe you,” Aomine says, a little more irritated than Momoi feels like he should sound, and she thinks that in this particular instance he’s embarrassed he didn’t have to bite a lemon.

“I swore an oath to tell the truth in this game,” Imayoshi says, in a way that really only makes it sound even more like he’s lying. “Anyway, it’s my turn. Never have I ever brought porn to school. Go suck on a lemon, Aomine.”

Aomine rolls his eyes as he reaches for a wedge, “And I’ll suck it with pride.”

“Wakamatsu-kun!” Momoi says, as their Center surreptitiously tries to grab a lemon while everyone is distracted by Aomine.

“Sorry! It was once! Er. It was a dare,” Wakamatsu looks decidedly uncomfortable with where this conversation has turned, even more so than Sakurai. “Who’s turn is it anyway?”

“Mine,” Susa says. “Never have I ever been sexually attracted to anyone on this team.”

Momoi takes her lemon and Aomine smirks at her. She sticks out her tongue and says, “No one said I was thinking about you, Dai-chan.”

“Er, on this _team_ or in this club?” Wakamatsu asks, and then shrinks when Aomine glares at him.

“In this club,” Susa says brightly, like he’d just discovered a new avenue for chaos.

The remaining starters all go for a lemon wedge and Aomine glares at _all_ of them while sucking on his lemon, “You perverts need to stay away from Satsuki!”

“Don’t be so hasty, Aomine,” Imayoshi says through his lemon, “Maybe it’s because we’ve thought about _you._ ”

“Oooh, that’s definitely better,” Momoi says when Aomine starts sputtering.

“Whatever, it’s my turn,” Aomine says, still glowering. “Never have I ever had a fantasy involving two dudes.”

Momoi cheerfully takes another lemon and then nearly chokes on it when Imayoshi does the same (it is not, however, a surprise when Sakurai takes one).

“OK, I don’t believe _anything_ you’ve said this game,” Susa tells their captain.

“Susa, I’m hurt you don’t think I’d suck on lemons honestly,” Imayoshi replies.

“Can we _please_ play a different game?” Wakamatsu begs.

“Well, we can’t go back to poker, Momoi keeps winning,” Imayoshi says.

“I don’t know about you,” Momoi says dreamily, “But I’m pretty sure I’m winning this game too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were multiple requests for AoMomo and team building with Touou, and my brain defaulted to "I Have Never" because it is one of my favorite fic tropes and I can't believe I haven't done it yet.


	7. Deleted "You Could Never Wear My Crown" Scene 1 - Father

0102 drifts in and out of consciousness, and he has lost too much of himself. He hears voices, but does not fully understand what is said.

“—sure that we should have done this. He was adopted by Akashi Masaomi, after all, and Akashi-san is not someone who we should anger—”

“Don’t be absurd. Akashi is a pragmatist, I doubt there is any _emotional_ attachment we need to be concerned about.”

“Still—”

“And anyway, you give that _businessman_ too much credit as an adversary. He is not a threat to us.”

0102 stirs, and he is not fully aware of where his own words are coming from when he says, “You should not underestimate my father.”

There is a long silence, followed by an incredulous exclamation of, “Your _father?_ You don’t have a _father._ You were created in a lab; _I_ designed you. Don’t be sentimental, 0102.”

_In the eyes of the law I am not your guardian but your father. It’s a trite and antiquated title to express forced familial bonds we really should have moved past as a society by now, but it’s important to keep up appearances for the lesser folk._

“I am not being sentimental,” Seijuurou says, returning to himself just a little as he focuses on the man who created him. “In the eyes of the law, he is my father.”

The scientist looks almost dumbfounded. “You can’t expect me to believe you think he’s going to _save_ you.”

“No,” Seijuurou says. _I expect you to be able to handle yourself in any situation, Seijuurou. If you need me to bail you out then you wouldn’t be an Akashi._ “I do not expect him to come for me. I only meant that you would be wiser not to make him your enemy.”

“Why, 0102, you continue to surprise me. Have you really formed some sort of familial attachment?”

“Don’t be absurd.” _Let me tell you something about family, Seijuurou. Bonds created by blood ties or love will only ever let you down. In the end, the only bond worth forging is solidified by mutual respect._ “He is not my family. But he does have something you will never have.”

“I can’t wait to find out what.”

“My respect.”

There is another long silence, and the man who created him just stares down, with cold calculation. “Clearly, 0102, today’s session has not worked properly. We will have to start all over again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a request for how Akashi's creator would have reacted to Akashi referring to Masaomi as "father" and so I wrote this deleted scene. I often regret the fact that I didn't come up with Masaomi's character until after I wrote "Crown" because I really do think it would have been interesting to have him in that story. So it was interesting to have this chance to include him in "deleted scenes." (As if this was a DVD extra =P)


	8. Deleted "You Could Never Wear My Crown" Scene 2 - Masaomi

“Masa-chan?”

Masaomi doesn’t look up from his computer. There’s really only one person who would even be allowed to see him right now, but he doesn’t feel the need to stop his work even for Youji. “Yes?”

There’s a slight hesitation, then, “How are you?”

“I’m fine,” Masaomi says, pausing only to take a sip of coffee.

“We don’t have any updates on Seijuurou yet.”

Masaomi snorts. “I wouldn’t have expected that.”

“Yes, I know how highly you think of law enforcement. I suppose I was wondering if _you_ did.”

Masaomi finally looks up. His oldest friend is looking down at him with the stoic mask he’d acquired a long time ago, before they’d even met, that Youji only ever used when he didn’t want anyone knowing what he was thinking. “Oh, Youji. I’ve told you before this isn’t worth my time to look into.”

“This isn’t something you should handle on your own, Masa-chan.” Youji’s expression is still unreadable, but clearly not believing what Masaomi is telling him.

“I am not ‘handling’ anything. I don’t really feel the need to do anything at all, in fact. I have every confidence in Seijuurou’s capability to remove himself from any crisis.”

“Yes, you’ve said that,” Youji says carefully. When the JSDF soldiers had come to tell him about Seijuurou’s disappearance, Masaomi had exclaimed, “You interrupted my business meeting for this?” and had been promptly accused of being a terrible, unfeeling human being. Youji was the only one who hadn’t thrown accusations of bad parenting at him.

“Even _you_ need help every now and then,” Youji says. “And he’s still only sixteen. You were sixteen, once.”

It’s most likely a subtle reference to how they met, and Masaomi finally stops typing and says, “Yes, but he’s _not_ me. As much as I would never admit this to him, he is by far more competent than I was at his age. And I was an extremely advanced sixteen-year-old, so you know that means something.”

“So you’re not concerned,” Youji says.

“Not at all,” Masaomi says, returning to his work. “His upbringing, while atrocious, certainly succeeded in raising a survivor, and I’d also like to think my own parenting has emphasized the importance of victory in any situation. I have a lot of faith in Seijuurou.”

“And I suppose you’re just playing Tetris on your computer right now, then?”

Masaomi huffs. “Alright, I _may_ be looking into a few leads, but only out of a sense of personal outrage, and not out of worry, I assure you. Someone dared to take _my_ kid, and this offends me.”

“And those leads would be?” Youji says, refusing to be distracted by Masaomi’s disclaimers.

“Just a few people who tried to buy Seijuurou from me a few months back, nothing concrete yet.”

“People tried to _buy_ your son?”

“I believe they assumed that’s how _I_ got him.”

Masaomi couldn’t even be too offended by that, seeing how it was a fairly logical (although very simplistic) conclusion. He was the only guardian over the Miracles who was not affiliated or related to anyone affiliated with the JSDF. And he was very rich.

“To be honest, the most offensive thing about their offer was assuming I would need the money,” Masaomi continues.

“Naturally. You _will_ tell me, right? If you find anything?”

This is the real reason why Youji is here—to make sure Masaomi doesn’t take things into his own hands. Youji knows him very well.

“Sure, Youji. If I find anything, I’ll tell you.” Eventually, Masaomi adds silently. And he only agrees because there is a _slight_ chance the JSDF might find Seijuurou first, and if so, Masaomi wants to be involved.

He is _very_ outraged that someone would dare take his kid, and he’s definitely going to make sure whoever did regrets that poor decision making for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also had a couple requests for Masaomi's reaction during the abduction, so here is another "DVD extra" deleted scene. Let's all pretend I absolutely had Masaomi's character all figured out when I wrote "Crown" and this is what he was doing =P


	9. Jealousy Redux

If Akashi had been inclined to answer honestly to any hypothetical person who might foolishly inquire about his love life, he would say that he didn’t actually mind a long distance relationship. Not in the way others seemed to care.

He was confident of his own place in Furihata’s heart and it never occurred to him that distance might lessen what they had. He enjoyed talking on the phone with Furihata, and exchanging emails and texts throughout the day. Before officially pursuing Furihata, he’d thoroughly researched the romance genre and he’d felt that all around, it was much better to have communication as the primary foundation for their relationship, and he was sure that it strengthened their bond when they _were_ together.

What he objected to, quite strongly, was when they were together and he had to _share_ Furihata.

And he _especially_ hated sharing Furihata with people who _got to see Furihata every day._

“But you came all this way,” Furihata had exclaimed, “And you guys don’t see each other all that often. I thought it would be a waste for you to be in the same city and not see each other.”

Akashi had _wanted_ to say, “I didn’t come all this way to see _Kuroko,_ ” but refrained because he didn’t want to sound too callous. And also, it was very difficult to deny Furihata anything when he looked so earnestly like he was trying to do something nice for _Akashi’s_ sake.

So now he is sitting here, trying (very hard) to maintain his composure, as Furihata and Kuroko talk about “Coach did this” or “Captain said this” or their time in the library committee or upcoming tests they have to study for and he’s trying (very hard) to not fantasize about quietly removing Kuroko from the picture entirely.

When Furihata gets up to refill his drink, Akashi takes the opportunity to say, “You know, Kuroko, the _tactful_ thing to do when someone invites you along when they are _going on a date_ is to decline.”

Kuroko takes a sip from his vanilla milkshake and stares impassively at Akashi. Then, in his flat, detached way of speaking, he says, “Yes, Akashi-kun. That _would_ have been the tactful thing to do.”

Akashi glowers. “Is this revenge because of what happened with Ogiwara?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Akashi-kun.”

Which, in Kuroko-speak, meant _Yes._

Akashi refuses to be kowtowed by such blatant insubordination. “Maybe it is time for Furihata to transfer to Rakuzan.”

“ _That_ will not happen,” Kuroko says, a little more heated than his usual manner, but then he adds more calmly, “He will be our Point Guard starter next year, and it is very likely he will be named Captain.”

And Akashi has to scowl again because yes, he is sure he could persuade Furihata to see all the benefits of living in Kyoto, but the chance at being captain would be a hard thing to compete against.

“I am going to remember this the next time you are on a date with Kagami.”

Kuroko only shrugs. “We live together.”

Kuroko, Akashi reflects, is very lucky Maji Burger does not have any metal cutlery handy and also, he is beginning to see the downsides to long-distance. He will have to be patient, and convince Furihata they should live together when they are in college.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @hello-marli-universe requested jealous Akashi, and it was AkaFuri day recently, so this happened. I really like the idea of Akashi and Kuroko clashing over Furihata =D


	10. Orange's Return

When GM- O394 bursts through the doors, it gives new meaning to the word “miracle” and Midorima, for all that he believes very strongly in the accuracy of horoscopes, has a hard time believing that such a thing like this could actually happen.

But it did happen. It is happening. Orange is still alive.

*

There are two kinds of ghosts, Midorima thinks after the Special Diet is over. It was one thing to have 7284 reappear in his life, like an ugly nightmare coming back to haunt him. 7284, and Gray, and Generation Jabberwocky—they were all Projects Midorima hadn’t expected to see again (he’d never expected to see any of them, ever again) and to learn that they had survived was just the bitter remnants of hell, returning to earth to make sure Generation Miracle never finds peace.

But then there were ghosts like Orange. Not demons, but the kind that haunt you all the same.

The kind that remind you that you don’t _deserve_ to find peace.

*

He doesn’t approach Orange during the party afterwards—he figures the respectful thing to do would be to let Kuroko talk to him first. Midorima marvels at the fact that Aomine and Murasakibara have no trouble at all approaching Orange ( _Hinata Shouyou,_ he reminds himself); it is not a surprise that Momoi does as well. And it is not a surprise that Akashi and Kise _don’t_ approach him (in the same way it is not a surprise that _he_ doesn’t).

*

“It really doesn’t bother you that he is not human?” Midorima asks the tall, lanky volleyball player with spiky black hair. Kuroo Tetsurou had invited him to play on their “Volley-Basketball” team, and made sure that Midorima felt involved. Midorima wasn’t expecting this generosity from a stranger, a volleyball player no less; he’s never known what to do with friendly people. But somehow they end up talking anyway, and it’s not as hard as he thought it would be to ask Kuroo a serious question.

“Why would it?” Kuroo replies, so earnest Midorima has to believe that he’s not being sarcastic. “Number ten is a great player on a great team, and that’s all that matters.”

“But you are ensuring that you will play against him in the future,” Midorima insists. “If you lose, you—” he has to stop because he’s not sure how to formulate the rest of his question. He still can’t believe all these people came to support Orange. (Well he _can,_ Orange was always the most outgoing of the Miracles, but it’s still strange). Not just Orange’s ( _Hinata’s_ ) school, but schools they’ve played against, schools they _won_ against, all coming here to say they wanted Hinata to keep playing.

Whenever the Miracles played basketball against humans, there was extraordinary bitterness about their “monster-like” abilities. Even though Orange was never a Success, he would still have natural athleticism humans would envy. Why would the teams gather to support that?

“We’ve beat him before,” Kuroo says, sounding mild. “Every practice game we’ve ever played against Karasuno, actually. Like Oikawa said, Karasuno is a gifted team, but not an inhuman one. And I really want to play against them in an official game.”

He doesn’t think he’ll lose, Midorima realizes. But then, maybe it wouldn’t make a difference to him, even if he did.

*

As the day comes to a close, Midorima ends up standing next to Kise. Kise is the only other Miracle who never approached Hinata Shouyou, and now they won’t have the chance.

“It’s kind of a kick in the balls, isn’t it?” Kise says, offhand.

Midorima pushes up his glasses. “That’s not how I would have phrased it, but… yes.”

“It was bad enough when it was just Kurokocchi,” Kise says, and Midorima knows exactly what he’s talking about.

Black and Orange were not Successes, and the rest of them knew that, and left them behind. They could have helped Orange more, they could have helped _Black_ more, but they didn’t. They left them to die. Black helped them escape anyway.

And now Orange saved them, too.

It was easy to think that they were not good people, and that it was not their fault they weren’t. It was very hard to see people who had it worse than they ever did still show kindness.

“We should have probably said ‘thanks,’ at least,” Kise says.

“Next time,” Midorima says, not sure if there will be a next time, but finds that maybe he hopes there will be. Maybe next time, he’d be ready to say thanks.

Maybe next time, he can apologize.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined a couple prompts on Hinata interacting with the other Miracles' and their thoughts on Hinata, and focused on Midorima, to keep things short. Set during the end scenes of "Don't Blink You'll Miss It."


	11. No Money

Youji is at work when he gets the call. The mechanized voice informs him that he has a collect call from “I’M NOT GIVING YOU MY NAME YOU STUPID PIECE OF INFERIOR—” and asks him if he would like to accept the charges.

Slightly amused at the thought of the multi-billionaire calling collect, Youji accepts the call and says, “What the hell, Masa-chan? Are you poor now?”

“Youji! Youji you have to come and get me! I don’t have my phone or my wallet and I’m pretty sure I’m in a disreputable part of town!”

Since Masaomi tended to think anything with a supercenter was a “disreputable part of town” Youji tends not to put too much stock in this claim. He continues working at his computer, “How did that happen?”

“Akane-chan! That horrible woman abandoned me without my phone! Or wallet! I’m going to fire her.”

Masaomi would pretty much be lost without his personal assistant, so Youji recognizes this as the idle threat that it is. “Wow, you must have really pissed her off this time, what’d you do?”

“I am her boss! I’m allowed—hey, wait, why do you always assume _I_ did something wrong?”

Youji decides that question really doesn’t dignify a response.

“Yes, OK, fine, yes, I did something wrong, but would it kill you to be on my side?”

“I am on your side, Masa-chan, I haven’t hung up on you yet, have I?”

“Don’t you dare! You have to come rescue me! There’s whole crowds of shifty looking people. I think they’re in a gang. And someone was passed out on the sidewalk, and something smells funny.”

“It’s the smell of fresh air,” Youji says.

“Well, it’s terrible. Would you come and get me already?”

“I’m at work right now.”

“Youji, you are a terrible friend.”

“I didn’t say I _wasn’t_ going to get you, I’m just pointing out that there are more obvious people you should be calling. Like any one of your millions of employees.”

“Seijuurou would find out if I did that,” Masaomi says darkly. “And then he would win all the points forever and I can’t have that.”

Youji has no idea what that means but is absolutely convinced he doesn’t need to know. “You’re telling me you can’t buy your own employees’ silence?”

“No, I can, that’s not the bigger issue. It has to be you because I need one of my credit cards. I, err, may have broken a window and I feel compelled to pay the owner back.”

_That_ should be an interesting story. “What makes you think I have one of your credit cards?”

“You’re telling me you don’t?”

Youji thinks about the last time he picked Masaomi’s pocket and also how much he spent and says, “Yeah, OK, I’m leaving. Give me your crossroads and I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

“Hurry! There are teenagers nearby and they’re closing in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a question on tumblr about what Masaomi would do if he was ever without money/phone =D


	12. Moving In

The day Kuroko moves in with the Fujimaki family, he feels tired. He sits in the car next to Fujimaki Takaya and doesn’t really speak the entire time. His relationship with the general is often defined by their philosophical discussions about literature, but they are just as easy together in silence. The general, more than anyone else in Kuroko’s life, knows just how tired Kuroko is. The boy has tried so hard to forge bonds—with the other Miracles, with humans, with anyone—only to have them severed, time and time again, and he is exhausted.

Kuroko feels somewhat like this move into the Fujimaki household is an escape—like an old time “rest cure” for madness. He feels tired, and numb, and hollow, and a little bit like maybe he should just disappear from everything.

“Oh,” Fujimaki says, his voice strange. It draws Kuroko’s attention, who only looks at the man but doesn’t ask the question. “My children have, apparently, come to visit,” he says, answering Kuroko’s unasked question.

Kuroko has never met the general’s children, and somewhat thought he wouldn’t ever really need to—they were all adults, Fujimaki had explained, moved out and with families or lives of their own.

“Is that… not a good thing?” Kuroko asks, suddenly uncertain. What if they didn’t _want_ him here? What if he was an intrusion after all?

“It is perfectly fine,” Fujimaki says reassuringly, “I had just hoped… well, I was always planning on introducing you, just… after you had the chance to settle.” He looks down at Kuroko after he parks the car and says, “The important thing to remember is that they mean well.”

*

“I BROUGHT CLOTHES AND STUFF.”

“That was very nice of you, Sakura, thank you. We did buy Tetsuya-kun clothes. We also have stuff,” Fujimaki replies calmly.

“YEAH, BUT NOT NICE CLOTHES. YOU AND MOM HAVE NO TASTE.”

“Please do not take this the wrong way, but what are you all doing here?”

“TO MEET TETSUYA. I ALWAYS WANTED A LITTLE BROTHER.”

“Hey! You have a little brother!” Tadashi says indignantly. “ _I’m_ your little brother!”

“I WANT A CUTE LITTLE BROTHER.”

“OK, if we’re adopting more siblings, I want a new sister,” Tadashi says.

“Both of you, be quiet,” Hiroki says. “We are _trying_ to make a good impression. Where is Tetsuya-kun?”

“He’s here,” Fujimaki says, calmly. “But I think you’ve frightened him.”

Kuroko doesn’t feel frightened, exactly. But these people are loud, and a little overwhelming, and it has always been his automatic response to fade into the background whenever confronted with something new.

“HEY I FOUND HIM,” Sakura says, almost pouncing on Kuroko when she spots him. Kuroko is a little startled by the discovery—it’s the rare sort of person who can spot him through his Latent Overflow.

“Awesome,” Tadashi says, “Nice to meet you, kid. Let me show you your room. It’s my old room and I’ve stocked it with supplies.”

“What kind of supplies?” Fujimaki asks, sounding vaguely concerned.

“All kinds of supplies,” Tadashi replies enigmatically, tugging on Kuroko.

“Guys, you are doing a terrible job of a good first impression. This is what happens when you lack discipline—”

“SHUT UP, HIROKI,” “No one asked you, Hiroki,” Sakura and Tadashi say at the same time.

This is, all things considered, not something he expected to encounter, and by the end of the day, Kuroko’s energy is drained. It’s a different kind of tired than before, but good.

*

The day Kuroko moves in with Kagami, he feels confident that this is the right choice, but unexpectedly sad.

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Kagami asks, uncertain, like he has ever since he met the general and his wife.

“Yes, Kagami-kun. This is where I belong,” Kuroko says simply. And that’s all that really matters—for the first time in his life, Kuroko has found somewhere he belongs. He _will_ miss the Fujimakis, and he will always appreciate their kindness, but he doesn’t want to lose this chance. (Kagami would wait, if that’s what Kuroko wanted. But Kuroko doesn’t want to wait. He spent years waiting for his chance to escape Teiko, and he’s done putting off things he wants. Life is too precious to postpone desire).

“OK,” Kagami says, coloring slightly. “If that’s what you want.”

This time, moving in is a quiet affair. He has more stuff this time—books and clothes and a few basketball related things—but it is still quick and when he’s there, Kuroko feels like this is the home he was always meant to have.

*

And even though he’s moved in with Kagami for awhile, it’s a bit like he’s moving in all over again when the Fujimaki siblings finally come to visit.

“SEE? I TOLD YOU THEY WOULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING.”

“They’re dudes, Sakura, of course they—holy crap, man, did you just move in or something?” Tadashi looks around. “Where’s all your stuff?”

“I have stuff,” Kagami defends.

“No, you _really_ don’t,” Hiroki says. “That’s OK, we brought you stuff.”

“We don’t need—”

“HERE’S A PLANT,” Sakura says, handing Kagami a ficus.

“I don’t need a plant?” Kagami says.

“THE PLANT’S NAME IS DONALD.”

“What—why does the plant have an American name?” Kagami says.

“We also brought more chairs and rugs, and Sakura brought some fancy bathroom stuff,” Hiroki says.

“IT’S CALLED SOAP.”

“Your kitchen is surprisingly well-stocked for two dudes living together,” Tadashi says, with an impressed whistle. “Someone knows how to cook. And by someone, I mean obviously Kagami has some hidden depths, because I know it’s not you, Tetsuya.”

“Kagami-kun is very talented,” Kuroko says.

“Get out of our kitchen,” Kagami says.

Kuroko looks at Kagami, not expected the easy way he said “our”—and it fills him with a kind of warmth he’s experienced every day since moving in.

“Obviously I need to visit you guys more,” Tadashi says. “I’ve been mooching off of Hiroki’s wife because Sakura is crap at cooking.”

“COOK FOR YOUR DAMN SELF, TADASHI.”

“How, how often are they going to visit?” Kagami asks Kuroko to the side.

“Not too often,” Kuroko says. “But, I imagine it will always be like this when they do.”

“Christ. I’m going to have to buy more dishes,” Kagami says.

“WE BROUGHT DISHES!” Sakura says helpfully.

It would be hard to explain how happy it makes him: to be in the home he belongs, and still have the important people he’s met still in his life. There was a time when it seemed like everything could be taken away and every bond could be severed. Kagami is the first person who made him realize that wasn’t true, but Kuroko is beginning to see there were people who were trying to teach him that all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a KagaKuro "Domesticity" theme event on tumblr, and I was taking the opportunity to combine some KagaKuro themed asks for D: M. This one was a combination of the Miracles moving in with their guardians and more Fujimaki siblings.


	13. Date Night

After the Winter Cup, there was a marked interest in Kagami’s popularity amongst the girls in their classroom. Kagami didn’t seem to notice, but Kuroko did. Kagami’s not noticing was a very pronounced thing, and eventually everyone more or less figured out that trying to coax Kagami Taiga into a date was a lost cause from the start.

Every now and then, though, there’s still at least one person who tries, and inevitably, Kuroko is around when it happens.

It is, perhaps, one of the downsides of being observant but also not very noticeable. He feels like a voyeur whenever anyone comes up and hits on his boyfriend, despite the fact that he was there first (in more ways than one). And he always feels _strange_ whenever it happens, right in front of him, but he is fairly certain he does not feel _jealous._

*

“Do you ever feel jealous about the attention Kagami gets?” Furihata asked one time.

“Not particularly,” Kuroko replied.

“It bugs me, sometimes,” Furihata admitted, shamefaced, “How popular Akashi must be at Rakuzan. I keep thinking one day he’ll realize he can do better.”

“You are very important to Akashi-kun,” Kuroko replied. But it is something he thinks about, later. The concept of _better._ It was such an important concept in Teiko—the idea that you had to be _better,_ that you had to be a Success, that you had to be victorious in all things _or you would die_ —and it is a really disturbing thought that similar principles could be applied to dating.

*

So when he is on a date with Kagami—nothing particularly fancy, just dinner with plans to see a movie later, nothing they don’t normally do anyway—and a girl approaches Kagami with enthusiastic flirtation, Kuroko watches it all unfold and he thinks about both _jealous_ and _better_ and wonders if maybe he should be reacting differently (if he should be reacting at all, beyond just watching and drinking his vanilla milkshake).

“You’re Kagami Taiga,” the girl says, “I’ve been to all your games—I’m your number one fan! Gosh, you just _have_ to join me and my friends, we’re going to party later, it’ll be such a blast.”

She keeps talking, and Kuroko is fairly certain she hasn’t noticed him at all, and the more she talks the more Kuroko doesn’t want her to notice him (which is always when he is the most unnoticeable. If this keeps up, soon everyone around them will forget he exists).

*

Kise, strangely, had been the one who first explained jealousy, apparently having jealousy explained to him by Kasamatsu. Kise’s behavior had already offered the perfect example of the emotion, as he would have cheerfully gutted anyone for daring to take some of Kasamatsu’s time. (Kasamatsu’s time was a precious commodity back then, and Kise didn’t want to share it with anyone).

Kise’s behavior had been generally agreed upon by everyone to be extraordinarily distasteful. 

“I can’t imagine ever making such a fuss over anyone,” Midorima said.

“I agree,” Kuroko had said calmly, “Although, I suppose I understand in principle where he is coming from. It is a bit like Murasakibara-kun and his food, I believe. Or you, and your lucky items.”

“Hm,” Midorima said. He understood—of course he understood, they’d all grown up never owning anything, and they were all too aware of what could be taken away. “And what don’t you want stolen, Kuroko?”

Kuroko didn’t have an answer, then. Because it already seemed like so much had been stolen from him. He wasn’t sure he had anything left.

*

The girl keeps talking, and Kuroko keeps thinking about whether or not she would be _better_ for Kagami. Kagami has been in danger before, because of his association with Kuroko. And maybe someday he’s going to want kids of his own, a wife, a normal life, things that Kuroko can’t give him or can’t ever be.

If you couldn’t be better, you were scrapped. That’s the principle that Kuroko understands. And maybe the stakes aren’t the same (but maybe they’re still just as high) in the world of dating.

*

“I can’t, I’m with Kuroko.”

Kagami interrupts the girl mid-sentence, and he interrupts Kuroko’s thoughts as well.

“Who—oh! You’re the Miracle,” she beams at him. “Well, he can come with! That’s so exciting! I’m sure lots of people would just _love_ to meet him!”

“No, I’m _with_ Kuroko,” Kagami says, “He’s my boyfriend. We’re dating. This is a date.”

“Kagami-kun,” Kuroko murmurs softly; Kagami isn’t being mean, he’s honestly just trying to make sure the girl understands what he’s saying, but she looks so horrified, Kuroko feels sorry for her.

“Oh, gosh, sorry! I didn’t mean—!”

“Thank you for coming to our games,” Kuroko says passively, “Seirin appreciates your support.”

“Oh, yes! Well, haha, I’m just such a fan, is all. Well, have a nice day! Enjoy the rest of your date!”

“Sorry,” Kagami mutters, after she flees.

“Kagami-kun doesn’t need to apologize for being popular,” Kuroko says. And under the table, he reaches over and grabs Kagami’s hand, always warm to touch, always reassuring.

He is not jealous, and he is not worried about what could be stolen; he is and always will be confident in Kagami.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Domesticity "Day Two" - "Date Night." Which I combined with a question about whether or not Kuroko ever gets jealous.


	14. Proposal

Kagami looks uncomfortable in his suit but Kuroko is rather shamelessly enjoying the view. Kagami looks _very_ nice in his black suit, with his hair slicked back, looking neater and more professional than Kuroko has ever seen him before. He looks very adult-like, for all that he seems uncomfortable, and Kuroko thinks it’s a good look.

“I’m sorry for dragging you to this,” Kagami says, for the third time. “My dad wanted me here. I don’t even know the bride all that well. We should just go.”

“It would be rude to leave now, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko reminds him. The bride was apparently a friend of the family, or a co-worker, Kuroko’s still not quite sure what the connection was. Kagami didn’t want to go alone and Kuroko joined him more out of curiosity than anything else. He’d thought perhaps he would finally meet Kagami’s mysterious father, but they had arrived at the wedding only to find out at the last minute that he couldn’t make it after all. They’re sitting next to an empty seat, and it had been up to Kagami to make apologies on his father’s behalf. Something he did rather well, all things considered.

“I am sorry,” Kagami says again. “These things are always so boring and awkward.”

Kuroko pauses before answering, and then says carefully, “I really do not mind, Kagami-kun, I have nothing to compare it to. I have never been to a wedding before.”

Kagami jolts, and then stares at Kuroko in a mixture of surprise and then dismay, and Kuroko can _see_ the guilt as he remembers that Kuroko’s upbringing was not a normal one and _of course_ he’d never been to a wedding before.

Kuroko feels the need to rush in, before Kagami apologizes even further. “It is really not all that strange, Kagami-kun. Furihata-kun was telling me just the other day that he has never been to a wedding either. It is simply that no one I know has married in the time that I have known them.”

“Right,” Kagami says. “You’re right, that’s not weird, I just—you do _know_ about weddings, right?”

“Yes, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says, as dryly as possible. “I _do_ read.”

“Right,” Kagami says. “Sorry.”

*

Kagami’s question was a valid one, so Kuroko isn’t even too bothered by the indelicacy of it. The JSDF had tried very hard to make sure the Miracles were exposed to some of the standard ceremonies that took place in a human lifetime—birthdays, religious holidays, New Year’s traditions—but no one had gotten married and so a wedding was not something the Miracles’ had a chance to experience for themselves.

Momoi and Kise had watched a lot of television, so they knew all about weddings, and Kuroko _had_ read books where weddings featured. So he knows more or less what’s happening, and what the governing principles are. These two people are swearing in front of everyone they know that they will stay together forever. Momoi had thought the concept very romantic, but Kuroko wasn’t sure about the ritualistic nature of it all.

That is, he understood and could appreciate the bond two people might have. Even before he’d met Kagami—even before he had realized that romance was something _he_ could have—he had desperately wanted a bond that would last forever.

Looking at the bride now, and recalling the ceremony he had just witnessed, Kuroko is still not sure what the point of it all was. Both she and the groom look very happy, but what was the point of making it all so public? Why make such a spectacle of it all?

“What’s bugging you?” Kagami asks quietly.

It isn’t as much of a surprise as it once would have been that Kagami can tell when something is bothering Kuroko. “I was only wondering why this all had to be so public. I think that I would much prefer a quiet ceremony, with no one else around.”

Kagami snorts. “Getting married isn’t really about the couple. It’s about their friends and family, as far as I can tell. My parents would never let me elope. They’d want—” he gestures to the extravagant part “—this, something that would tell everyone they knew that they could put on a show.”

The bride is American, Kagami explained, and they’re following a lot of American traditions. As another clinking of cups rings out and the bride and groom kiss once again, Kuroko finds himself wondering if that’s something Kagami would want. He _knows_ it’s not something _he_ would want—he would never want to be put on display like this, with all eyes on him.

“And anyway, wouldn’t you want your friends at your wedding? Seirin, and the Miracles, and everyone?”

Kuroko hesitates, because all of the sudden it seems like they’re in dangerous territory. They haven’t been dating for very long, all things considered, they haven’t even really _known_ each other all that long, in the grand scheme of things. While it is impossible to talk about hypothetical weddings and not envision Kagami by his side, it seems too presumptuous to speak of such things now.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Kuroko says carefully. The Fujimaki family, too, although Kagami hasn’t met them yet. They would want to come to his wedding. And some of the soldiers and doctors from the JSDF base.

Kagami hears the hesitation and suddenly looks concerned, “I mean, we don’t _have_ to have a big thing, I just kinda figured we would.”

Kuroko pauses and wonders if Kagami even realizes what he’s saying. He doesn’t want to point it out just yet, he wants to see where this will go, so he just says, “But men cannot marry each other in Japan.”

“It’s legal in America,” Kagami says, as if that’s the most obvious thing in the world. “And we wouldn’t have to change names in America. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d make a good Kuroko.”

“We are not citizens,” Kuroko says, still trying to see how far Kagami has thought this through.

“I am, didn’t I tell you? I have dual citizenship. I figured we’d move there, after high school.”

Kuroko takes a sip from his water glass and looks at Kagami very passively. “Just to be sure we understand each other, Kagami-kun, is this you proposing?”

“I—” Kagami flushes, and then sticks out his chin, almost defiantly, “I’m just telling you what I’ve thought about.”

The fact that Kagami isn’t trying to back out of this has such a powerful effect on Kuroko it’s almost dizzying. He had never thought it was possible to feel like this—not for _him_ to _feel so much_. The atmosphere has suddenly become very heavy and he wants to make a joke, if only to lighten the mood, but he suddenly finds he’s not capable of talking.

“I asked you to move in with me. Did you think I wasn’t serious?”

They haven’t talked about Kagami’s spur-of-the-moment offer since it happened, and yes, Kuroko did think perhaps Kagami wasn’t being serious. They’re still in high school, people don’t move in with their boyfriends during high school.

“I was, you know. I’m always serious about you, Kuroko.”

Much too much. Kuroko is a little terrified of his own emotions—he’s not sure he’s ever been so overwhelmed with feeling before, not since Orange died, and he feels a bit like his body might shut down from the overwhelming nature of it.

“Think about it,” Kagami says, “You don’t have to answer _here,_ at someone else’s wedding, but just think about it, OK?”

“Yes, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says. _Yes._

“Good. After they cut the cake, let’s duck out of here. Misdirect us if you have to, I don’t want to be here for the bouquet toss. I don’t ever want to be around one of those again.”

“What happens at the bouquet toss?” Kuroko asks.

“Things,” Kagami says darkly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Proposal was the theme for Day 3 of the KagaKuro Domesticity event on tumblr. I combined it with requests for the initial conversation for when Kagami and Kuroko discussed marriage, and also for how the Miracles react to the concepts of windows.


	15. Kageyama and Takao

When Takao Kazunari pulls him into a game of “volley-basketball,” Kageyama doesn’t really think too much about it. He’s still reeling a little by what happened at the Special Diet, and he’s not entirely sure how he should be acting around the Aoba Johsai team. He _knows_ he owes Oikawa big for this one, and there’s certainly some…mixed feelings there… but he’s not entirely sure how he should act around Kindaichi and Kunimi, who also came to show their support.

He really, really doesn’t want to feel like he owes them anything.

“Heads up!” Takao shouts, tossing the ball at Kageyama, who immediately sets it on instinct.

Takao laughs, “Oh man, did you do that as a reflex? You were totally zoning out a minute ago!”

“Were you trying to hit me in the head?” Kageyama asks suspiciously.

“Of course not,” Takao says, whistling innocently.

*

“So what’s with you and turnip head?” Takao asks after their current round comes to an end. “You keep glaring at each other.”

Kageyama shrugs, not wanting to get into it with someone he just met. “We went to middle school together.” He scowls. “Middle school kind of sucked.”

“Oh man, _tell me about it,_ ” Takao says. “Middle school is the worst.” He doesn’t ask anymore questions, and Kageyama appreciates that.

*

They exchange numbers by the end of the day at Takao’s insistence, and Kageyama isn’t expecting to ever talk to this guy again. Takao laughs a lot, and Kageyama has never known what to do with good natured people. But somehow it doesn’t surprise him as much as it otherwise might have when Takao does end up texting him, and emailing him, and suddenly he has a penpal in Tokyo and life is very strange.

*

“Green’s boyfriend?” Hinata asks, once he notices Kageyama texting. Kageyama just stares at him blankly. “Midorima,” Hinata clarifies.

“Oh. Yeah. I guess.”

Hinata scrunches his nose up in thought. He’s clearly confused, instead of jealous (like someone else might be, when finding out their boyfriend had prolonged email exchanges with some other guy). “What do you guys even talk about?”

Kageyama just shrugs. “Our games, mostly.” The only thing they really have in common is the fact that they’re both dating Miracles. But even that experience is so vastly different it’s not like they could even compare. Kageyama’s not even sure how they talk so often, but they do.

“Weird,” Hinata says, and then shrugs the whole issue aside.

It is weird, Kageyama agrees silently.

*

When Midorima and a few of the other Miracles visit Hinata, Kageyama tries to leave them alone. He figures, some things can really only be shared between them—the ones who were in Teiko together, and it’s really best to let have their privacy.

Takao must agree, because he drags Kageyama away and demands they go sightseeing. Which is all well and good, up until they run into Kindaichi and Kunimi, who are out shopping. The three Kitagawa Daiichi alumni all stare awkwardly at each other, and if Kageyama was by himself, he’d probably pretend he didn’t see the other guys and the other guys would have probably gone along with it.

“Takao Kazunari,” Takao introduces himself. He’s wearing his Shutoku uniform, so it’s obvious he doesn’t go to Karasuno, which explains Kunimi’s question, “How do you know _Kageyama?_ ”

“We dated in middle school,” Takao says brightly, before Kageyama can respond.

“You—you did not!” Kindiachi says hotly. “You didn’t go to Kitagawa Daiichi!”

“Nope, it was a long distance thing,” Takao says.

“Kageyama was _not_ dating anyone then,” Kunimi says.

“You didn’t tell them about your adorable boyfriend?” Takao says good-naturedly outraged, “He was so shy back then! And such an adorable stud, I really should have locked this one in when I could.” Takao then launches into such a convincing narrative about their long-distance middle school romance Kageyama almost forgets for a second that it never happened.

*

“What was the point of that?” Kageyama asks. Kunimi and Kindaichi had walked away scowling, and that was pretty satisfying, but he’s not sure why Takao did it.

Takao shrugs. “I told you I had a rough time during middle school. There was a time when it was easy to pretend I had a long-distance boyfriend, just so people—well, just so some people knew I’d moved on and they couldn’t get to me, I guess. I just thought maybe you’d benefit from having an imaginary ex-boyfriend too.”

Kageyama thinks about this, and it occurs to him that having an imaginary boyfriend might have actually been a good coping mechanism back then, had it occurred to him at the time. “Thanks,” he says, a little awkwardly.

“Anytime. Ooh! I’m totally going to tell Shin-chan and Hinata we used to date, that would be amazing!”

Kageyama rolls his eyes. “Hinata would never believe you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a couple questions about how Kageyama and Takao became friends =D


	16. Deleted "Filthy Halls" Scene 1 - Masaomi and Youji

Youji shows up at Masaomi’s house in Kyoto unannounced. “I was in the area,” he had said as an explanation, and they both knew how exceedingly unlikely that was without Masaomi pointing it out, so Masaomi didn’t say anything at all.

“My brother is dead,” Youji said finally, after dinner and then watching TV for a couple hours on Masaomi’s couch while Masaomi worked on his laptop.

“Congratulations,” Masaomi said mildly, knowing how Youji felt about his brothers. “The evil one or the dick?”

“The dick,” Youji said, “Although, I feel the need to point out that they were both evil.”

“I have very fancy champagne,” he offered, “Seijuurou is home though, so we’d probably have to wait until he goes to sleep if we want to get really drunk.”

“Ah, I see you’ve already mastered the finer nuances of good parenting,” Youji said fondly. Masaomi decided he would let Youji continue to think he didn’t want Seijuurou to see them drunk out of delicacy for role model purposes, and not at all because he was sure Seijuurou would find a way to exploit that weakness to his advantage. Youji leaned back on the couch, pinching the bridge of his nose, as if he had a headache. “I _do_ want to get drunk, which probably means that I shouldn’t.”

“Fair enough,” Masaomi said. “I also have very fancy cake.”

“I could eat some cake,” Youji acknowledges.

*

It was on the third slice of cake that Youji’s phone rings. “It’s Ryouta,” he says, as an explanation for why he gets up to take the call. Masaomi tunes out at that point, because he doesn’t feel the need to listen in on Youji’s conversations with his son.

It’s not until he hears Youji cry out, “Ryouta, stop. I can help you, just tell me where you are. We’ll figure this out together. Ryouta!” sounding like a wounded animal, that Masaomi whips his head up.

Youji is looking at his phone and Masaomi’s heart stops for just a second—he has seen that expression on Youji’s face before, and it’s not good.

“What happened?” he demands, already getting up. He’s not sure what he’s going to do, but he thinks desperately that he has to stop Youji somehow (he’s not sure what he’s stopping Youji from doing, but he’s ready to intervene, to do anything, to make it all go away).

“Yukio,” Youji says, his voice a strangled whisper. “Something—something must have happened to Yukio. I have to—I have to go them.” He’s packing up his stuff and looking wretched and lost.

“OK, we’ll go them,” Masaomi says calmly. “Where are they?”

“I don’t—I don’t know.” Youji stops and swallows and looks at him helplessly, “Masaomi, I don’t know where my sons are.”

He sounds close to breaking so Masaomi pulls at him, steering him towards the laptop. “It’s OK, I can find them. Give me their cell phone numbers and tell me everything.”

“You can—you can track their numbers?”

“ _I_ can,” Masaomi says, allowing that this isn’t something just anyone can do.

Youji paces, agitated, as Masaomi starts working at his computer. He’s only ever heard Youji sound so helpless once before, and he _hates_ it. His own heart beats fast with the sense of urgency that he knows Youji must be feeling.

“Ryouta said—he said something bad might have happened. He meant Yukio.”

“Did he _say_ that?”

“No, but—that’s the only thing it could have been, to make him sound like that. Something must have happened to Yukio, and I don’t—Ryouta sounded like he was going to do something dangerous and what if—”

“It will be fine,” Masaomi says, with firm conviction, like he can _will_ it to be true. “Everything is going to be fine.”

They both knew that sometimes things weren’t fine. Youji almost died after he lost Hinami; Masaomi is positive he won’t make it if he loses those two kids. Masaomi works faster and then curses when the results settle in a location.

“What? Where are they?!”

“Iwatobi,” Masaomi says, knowing what that means to Youji.

“Oh, _God,_ he must have— _Seiji._ ”

Masaomi swallows, knowing that Youji had good reasons to hate his brothers, and he’s feeling in the blanks about why his kids might have gone to Iwatobi. “You never told your gay son about your homophobic sadistic brothers?” Masaomi asks even as they’re already packing up and heading out the door.

“I didn’t think I _had_ to!” Youji says, “I _told_ Yukio not to go, he’s never disobeyed before—Jesus Christ, if he’s done anything to hurt my kids I’m going to kill him.”

The eldest brother, Masaomi thinks. The one _Masaomi_ really should have done something about, years ago. Except Youji hadn’t wanted that, not really. And now they’re both regretting that inaction.

“How long does it take to get to Iwatobi?” Youji asks. “Do you have a jet?”

“Yes, of course, but it’ll be faster to take a helicopter, we won’t have to worry as much about landing—”

“Will a helicopter be fast enough?”

“One of _mine_ will, I designed them myself,” Masaomi says.

“OK, OK,” Youji says, mostly to himself, as if trying to calm down.

The round the corner, and Seijuurou is standing there. Masaomi blinks, having momentarily forgotten he was around.

“Is Ryouta in trouble?” Seijuurou asks.

“He might be, and we’re kind of in a hurry—”

“I will go with you,” Seijuurou says.

Masaomi would protest this but they don’t have time. And Seijuurou might come in handy anyway. At any rate, his presence would keep Youji from losing himself entirely, so Masaomi just nods and they head out the door.

There’s too much at stake at the moment—Youji is already too close to losing his mind with worry, so there’s no point in adding to that. But a deeply unsettled feeling spreads throughout Masaomi as he thinks about _Iwatobi_ and how he knows there’s other things in that small town that the Miracles might have to worry about.

And for the first time, he starts to think maybe it wasn’t just a coincidence that the secrets in Iwatobi happened to be in the same place as Youji’s home town.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the opportunity to use some tumblr prompts to write a scene I'd really wanted to include in "Filthy Halls" but I couldn't make it work narratively in the story. I also sorta figured at the time of writing I could write the scene as a short, so I was glad for the chance!


	17. Deleted "Filthy Halls" Scene 2 - Kasamatsu and Kise

Kasamatsu spends the next few days constantly near Kise. Kise’s still recovering from his use of Perfect Copy and he seems to need the attention. Kasamatsu is still recovering from all his near-death experiences, and is actually rather happy to give the attention. It’s important to Kasamatsu that he and Kise communicate (it’s more important than _ever_ that they communicate—he wants all of his important relationships to be founded on open communication) so in the process of talking through how strange the whole experience had been, he mentions, “And I found out my dad is bisexual, that was odd—”

Kise just blinks at him. “You didn’t know that?”

This statement causes Kasamatsu to immediately halt his entire conversation train of thought and he sputters, “ _You_ knew that?! He _told you?_ ”

Because it’s one thing to accept that Youji didn’t like to volunteer information about himself and respect his father’s reservations, but it’s another thing _entirely_ if Youji felt like he could trust _Kise_ (and not, say, Kasamatsu), with such secrets. (He gets the barest stirring of sibling resentment against his boyfriend, and this disturbs the hell out of him so much he has to squash it down immediately).

“Err, no, he didn’t _tell_ me, exactly. I, uhh, had some questions? About having sex with guys? And I asked him once, and well, his answers sort of, you know, made it clear that he was speaking from experience. So. I assumed?”

This statement shuts Kasamatsu’s brain down entirely. “You. Asked my dad for sex advice.”

“Sure, lots of times. Who else was I supposed to ask? Wh—why are you looking like that?”

“No reason,” Kasamatsu says, in a strangled voice. “Our relationship just never felt particularly incestuous until just now.”

“What? What are you talking about? We’re not related at all!”

“You asked _my dad_ for sex advice! Because he’s also _your—_ oh god. Oh _god,_ you didn’t, like—he didn’t know you were talking about _me_ , right? You were just speaking in general?” When Kise doesn’t respond right away, Kasamatsu grabs him on the arm. “ _Right?_ You didn’t want to have sex with _me_ when you asked, it was about some other guy?” He has never before wanted Kise to say he wanted to have sex with another guy as much as he does right now.

“Uhh…” Kise seems to recognize that there is no right way to answer this question. “We didn’t mention you by name…?”

“Oh my god,” Kasamatsu buries his face in his hands. “We can never have sex, ever.”

“WHAT? Senpai, don’t joke like that! Senpai!”

“And when my dad gets a boyfriend I’m going to make sure he _suffers_ ,” Kasamatsu says darkly. He’s not sure how he can pass along the now brain-destroying feeling of pseudo-incest if his father _does_ start dating Akashi Masaomi, but he’s going to try.

“That’s not likely to happen, is it? Youji-san always seemed more partial to ladies,” Kise asks, perplexed. Kasamatsu opens his mouth and then shuts it. If Kise doesn’t know about whatever Youji’s relationship with Masaomi is, then Kasamatsu isn’t going to bring it up.

“And anyway, you were joking, right Senpai? _Right?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was another scene I was hoping to write in "Filthy Halls" but it would have interfered with the pacing of the ending I wanted. So I also decided to eventually write it for a short =D


	18. Natsu

“I told you, they’re kind of like my brothers,” Hinata says, for about the tenth time, “That’s why we’re meeting them.”

“Your brothers are my brothers,” Natsu says.

“No, they’re not!” he says, a little indignant on this, because he doesn’t want to think the Miracles have any kind of claim on Natsu. _He’s_ her big brother, and that’s that. “I told you, they’re from my time before I was in this family.” Ever since he “outted” himself to the public, his family had thought it best that they try to explain a little about what was going on to Natsu, but she was six, and having a hard time understanding some of the concepts.

Natsu scrunches up her nose. “Well, what did I do before I was in the family?”

“Nothing, you were always in this family.”

“That’s not fair. I was a wizard before coming to this family!”

Hinata rolls his eyes. “Fine. You were a wizard.”

“Yay!”

*

Natsu clings to his neck when she sees the other Miracles. “He is the tallest of the nii-chans,” she says quietly, after seeing Murasakibara.

Hinata scowls. “I told you, they’re not your brothers.”

“They’re taller than you,” Natsu points out.

“Yes, thanks Natsu, I know.”

“Much, much, _much_ taller than you.”

“Got it. I’m putting you down now.”

“No!” she clings to him even more, and despite her ribbing on his height, Hinata feels pleased, like he’s established his superiority as a brother.

*

Murasakibara is unexpectedly good with children and when Natsu climbs on his shoulders and goes, “Weee!” Hinata scowls so furiously and resentfully that he’s sure right now his expression could rival one of Kageyama’s. Murasakibara also has candy, which automatically makes him the best, in Natsu’s opinion.

Midorima is _also_ good with children, even if he doesn’t let Natsu climb on him. He listens carefully to her talk about her TV shows and then _offers up his own opinion_ because apparently he’s watched them too and what the hell is that about?

Momoi immediately makes lots of cooing noises about how adorable Nacchan is, which of course Natsu is very pleased about.

Aomine, apparently, is “super cool,” and Kise is so charming and pretty that Natsu declares she wants to marry him which makes Hinata instantly want to yell, “ _Hell_ no,” but Kise just laughs, ruffles her hair, and says, “Sorry, kid, I’m taken and also super gay.”

Hinata hasn’t gotten around to explaining the fact that he’s dating Kageyama to his little (six-year-old) sister, so it’s a bit of surprised when she says, “Oh, like Nii-chan?”

“Exactly like your Nii-chan,” Kise says, eyeing Hinata slyly.

Akashi, Natsu just sort of stares at in awe and then later says, “He’s so fancy,” to Hinata. Hinata’s not sure what that means, but agrees.

She doesn’t seem to like Kuroko all that much, though, since she just stares at him and then pulls at Hinata’s hand and demands to be picked up again. She warms up a little bit when he offers her a children’s book he brought, and kisses his cheek when they head home, and it’s all a bit alarming that Natsu gets along so well with them. He feels like maybe asserting once again that they are _not_ Natsu’s siblings, but he figures maybe he’s being a tad irrational.

*

“Nii-chan didn’t look like any of them,” Natsu mumbles into his back as he carries her home.

“I _know_ ,” he says, “They’re taller than me, yes, I know.”

“But _we_ look like each other!” Natsu asserts. “So Nii-chan is my Nii-chan because we both have orange hair.”

Hinata tries to sift through her logic, and then it finally dawns on him that maybe _she_ didn’t like the idea of other people having a familiar claim on _him._

He feels positively brimming with love and pride, “That’s right, you’re my only little sister in the world and I’m your only older brother.”

“Good,” she mumbles.

“I’m going to buy you a meat bun.”

“Yay!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a few requests for Natsu to meet the Miracles.


	19. Powerpoint Presentation

Sometimes, when Izuki Shun hangs out with Hayama Kotarou, he gets the distinct feeling that he is being seduced. Which is a very strange feeling, for one thing, because he is not really the type of person who _gets_ seduced, much less by an athlete of Hayama’s caliber, and also because he’s not entirely sure what is involved in the finer arts of seduction, but it’s not certainly not always what he would expect.

“That is… certainly a very… _thorough_ powerpoint presentation on the superiority of bisexuality,” Izuki says slowly.

“Right? It’s good though, yeah?”

“Yes, er,” Izuki says, noticing Hayama’s particularly eager expression and wondering if maybe he wanted feedback on his work. “The purple font on the pink background made it a little hard to read, but I liked the animations and the embedded sound effects. The, er, charts were also illuminating.”

“Thanks! I made those myself.” Hayama is still looking at Izuki expectantly, like he’s waiting for Izuki to say something in particular.

“You should send me a copy,” Izuki offers, “I’ll show it around Seirin. We’re a fairly bisexual bunch.”

Hayama blinks. “Wait, what? Like, all of you?”

Izuki shrugs, feeling like he shouldn’t get into particulars about what he suspects about the other members on the basketball team, “Good majority. You know, we’re all about team play in Seirin. Never leave anyone _bi_ themselves, that’s our motto.”

Hayama bursts out laughing, and it will never stop being a surprise when he laughs at one of Izuki’s puns. When Hayama leans in to take his phone back from Izuki, he stays a little bit closer to him, and Izuki doesn’t move away.

*

“Is he hitting on you with powerpoint presentations?” Hyuuga asks after reviewing the presentation on Izuki’s phone.

“I—really have no idea,” Izuki says. “Maybe?”

His friend looks at him suspiciously. “Is it _working?_ ”

Izuki shrugs, feeling a little helpless, “Kinda? It had some pretty impressive charts, and apparently I am easily seduced by statistical analysis and appreciation of puns.”

“Ugh,” Hyuuga says, “This is going to make games against Rakuzan even more complicated.”

“Oh yeah, whereas crushing on people in the same club as you _never_ has complications,” Izuki says dryly.

“I have now idea what you’re talking about,” Hyuuga says, scowling.

“Uh huh, sure. Give me my phone back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a couple requests for Hayama and Izuki, the rarepair that I adore.


	20. Glitter

There is a brief time when the Miracles are living on the JSDF base that Momoi momentarily became obsessed with glitter. This was only a problem because she got a hold of glitter pens and then somehow it ended up everywhere.

*

“Oh for—” Youji bites his tongue before swearing, and then dumps his coffee out in the sink. “That’s it. When there’s glitter in my coffee we have hit the point of no return. You need to tell her to stop.”

Michiru casually drinks her own (non-glittered) coffee and says, “First? No. Secondly, fuck you. Thirdly, you’re a heartless monster.”

“Michiru, I am perfectly happy—and encourage!—whenever the kids find little human things that they enjoy. But there’s glitter everywhere. And I mean _everywhere._ ” Youji’s expression darkens, “I wake up and find glitter where glitter should never be and I have _no idea how it got there._ ”

“She’s been putting glitter on the chairs,” Michiru says helpfully.

Youji rubs his forehead. “ _Please_ tell her to stop. She’s been putting glitter on the weapons and some of the men are complaining.”

“Bitch-ass whiners,” Michiru dismisses.

“And it’s against regulations,” Youji adds.

“Since when have _you_ cared about regulations?”

“Precisely at this moment, with glitter in my coffee. Although I haven’t particularly enjoyed the sensation that I just spent a wild night with Tinkerbell.”

“I’m sure you’ve spend wild nights with worse,” Michiru quips easily.

Youji scowls, pauses as he thinks about this, and then nods, agreeing that _yes, this is probably true._ “Look, I’m telling you now as a friend. If you don’t tell her to stop, Kobayashi will, and it’s much better coming from you.”

“Kobayashi needs to spend a wild night with Tinkerbell,” Michiru grumps, “Or anyone, really. Man needs to get laid.”

“Agreed. But the point remains…”

“ _Fine._ You monster.”

*

Momoi takes one look at her expression and immediately droops. “I’m going to have to stop with the glitter, aren’t I?”

“‘Fraid so, kiddo. Men are a bunch of babies.”

“Yeah. The boys didn’t like it either.”

Michiru pats her on the head, and leaves her hand resting there as she sits down next to her.

“You liked it because it made things look like you, right?”

Momoi nods sullenly, and starts to glow. Michiru always thought the pink light had a way of shining like glitter. She always wondered what the world looked like to the Miracles, when they glowed like that. Momoi stops glowing and then sighs. “Well, fine. I’ll save it for special occasions.”

“That’s the spirit,” Michiru says. “Tell you what, next time I’ll bring confetti.”

“What’s that?” Momoi asks, intrigued.

“Marvelous chaos,” Michiru replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the Miracles' first encounter with glitter, aaaaand this is where I went with it. Largely because I wanted to write more with Michiru and Momoi.
> 
> Also, I was far too lazy too look up whether or not glitter on guns is actually against military regulations, but I'm going to assume =D


	21. Comfort

Takao has been in a bad mood all day, and Midorima doesn’t know what to do with that. He knows that Takao is in a bad mood, because he’s not laughing, or joking or teasing or doing any of the usual Takao things. Unlike other people in a bad mood, Takao doesn’t snap at others or show any open hostility, he’s just quiet, like he’s concentrating very intently on any task at hand. Midorima does not like the fact that he is quiet.

“Is something wrong?” he asks, early in the day.

“No,” Takao says. “What makes you think that?”

Midorima doesn’t respond, because he especially doesn’t like the fact that Takao is lying, but he doesn’t press the issue.

*

“What’s up with your boyfriend?” Miyaji asks during practice.

“He wouldn’t say,” Midorima says.

“Did _you_ do something?” Miyaji asks suspiciously. 

“I never do anything wrong,” Midorima says, with a haughtiness that he doesn’t quite feel. What if he _did_ do something? Would he know? He’s never had a boyfriend before (he’s never even had a _friend_ before) so he’s not sure how he would know if he did something wrong.

“If that’s your attitude, I’m not sure you’re going to have a boyfriend for very long,” Miyaji says.

*

After school, he shows up at Takao’s house unannounced, holding a cheeseburger.

“Here,” he says, placing the cheeseburger in Takao’s hands. “It is your lucky item for the day.”

“I know,” Takao says, confused, “I listen to the show in the morning. What are you doing here, Shin-chan?”

Midorima purses his lips, feeling stiff and awkward in the presence of someone he’s never felt awkward around before. “I wanted to see if you were feeling better.”

Takao tilts his head to the side. “I wasn’t feeling bad.”

“Then, I’m here to help you study.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to that,” Takao says, smiling slightly, “Let me copy your English homework.”

“No.”

*

“My dad called,” Takao says, halfway through their English homework. He doesn’t even look up from his worksheet.

There is a very long silence as Midorima wages a war within himself. He wants to say something, but he wants to say the _right_ thing, and he’s not sure what that is. He knows Takao doesn’t like talking about his father, so he’s pretty sure he’s not supposed to press for details. And he’s not sure if he could provide comfort, because it’s not something he could even understand.

“I wish he wouldn’t,” Takao says, sounding angry. It’s so unsettling, Midorima’s not sure he’s ever heard Takao be _angry_ before. “If he’s going to be an asshole he should just remain an absentee one. I wish I never had to hear from him again.”

There’s a small part of Midorima that wants to say, _I could make that happen for you. I could make it so he never bothers you or makes you angry or makes you sad ever again. I know how to do it, I’m very good at it._ There’s a small part of him that even _wants_ to do this for Takao, because it’s something he knows he _can_ do.

But he’s also aware that it’s probably not what Takao needs to hear.

*

He’s not entirely sure what he should be doing, so he’s not looking at Takao at all when he reaches out and grabs his hand. He’s not looking at Takao when he says, “He’s not important. He doesn’t deserve you.” He’s looking very firmly at his homework even as he holds Takao’s hand. There’s more he wants to say, but Takao abruptly flings himself on Midorima, pushing him down as he wraps his arms around him.

“Oh, Shin-chan, you’re such an adorable tsundere! My boyfriend is the _cutest_ boyfriend in the world!”

“Stop that!” Midorima says, although he doesn’t push Takao away. He has his arms around Takao like he’s afraid Takao might disappear forever if he lets go. “I’m not _cute._ ”

“You are, though,” Takao says, laying down on Midorima. He sighs. “I’m very lucky.”

Which isn’t true at all, Midorima thinks. Of the two of them, Midorima has been far more fortunate.

*

“So am I supposed to eat this or just hold it for the rest of the day?” Takao says, still resting his head on Midorima and holding out the cheeseburger.

“I’ve never been certain,” Midorima confesses. “When it’s a food item, I usually hold onto it, as long as it’s not perishable.”

“Eh, I’m eating it, the luck will stay with me then,” Takao says, biting it and then grinning, “At least for a little while, anyway, before I—”

“Don’t be vulgar, Takao,” Midorima snaps. When Takao laughs and continues eating his burger, something in Midorima finally relaxes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was how do the Miracles comfort their significant others, and I focused on Midorima and Takao for brevity's sake.


	22. S1-761

Ever since he was rescued by the JSDF, S1-761 has been around a lot of different people, and a lot of different minds, and it hurts. (When he was in _that place_ , there was really only one kind of mind that he had to deal with on a daily basis: calm and analytical. He very rarely had to be around anyone else. The other broken S1s and S7s didn’t quite count.)

There’s a range, of course. Of the minds he prefers and the minds he does not.

*

He likes Furihata Kouki best, naturally, because he never hears anything around Furihata. Furihata is quiet, a silence when everyone else is screaming, and being around Furihata makes S1-761 feel normal again.

*

Akashi Seijuurou’s mind is almost as nice to be around as Furihata’s is because it’s very neat and organized. On their first meeting, Akashi had said, “My thoughts are hurting you,” and when 761 nodded it was like Akashi put all his thoughts in a box and then locked the box away inside another box. From then on, all of Akashi’s thoughts were neatly organized, and did not hurt at all.

*

S5-184B’s mind is nice too because he is the same kind of mind as 761. They can hear each other, talk to each other, and 761 doesn’t have to _tell_ him what hurts, because he just knows.

*

He doesn’t like being around his parents, who call him _Ren_ and have all kinds of memories about _Mihashi Ren_ and they’re in so much pain so he’s in pain and then he feels guilty.

*

Likewise, Sergeant Kasamatsu is sometimes hard to be around, because he is always filled with so much pity. Not like the other soldiers, though, who are always wondering how anyone could ever do this to children. Like he knows that this kind of thing happens to children all the time, like he knows what it means to be locked up and hurt, and he’s sorry, so very sorry, to see it happening and he’s always so guilty that it happened and it’s very painful for 761 to be around.

*

Individual minds are sometimes hard to handle but crowds are much worse, and for that reason 761 hates being around Akashi Masaomi the most out of everyone because Akashi Masaomi’s mind is like a crowd. He approaches 761 only once, to talk about a facility in America, but he’s thinking five, ten, fifteen different things all at once and it’s thoughts on top of thoughts and thoughts that split up into three different directions going all which way and it’s so confusing that 761 has to put his hands to ears and scream just to keep out all the thoughts. Masaomi doesn’t try talking to him in person after that, and that’s a relief.

761 is a bit sorry that it’s that way, since Masaomi’s emails were always very kind and he seems like such a nice person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was about whether Mihashi new Youji and Masaomi's backstory since he can read minds. I figure, Mihashi can only read the thoughts if people are actively thinking them, so he probably doesn't know the backstory, but it was fun to explore Mihashi's mindreading abilities in this short =)


	23. Masaomi and the General

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set before the Miracles move out of the JSDF.

“Masa-chan, I told you, you can’t just go in there and act like you usually do—”

“—I’m not sure I like your implication there, Youji, I usually behave just fine around people.”

“He’s not _people,_ he’s a _four-star general,_ OK? And if you want to adopt Seijuurou, you’re going to have to get him to _like_ you.”

“I still have no idea what you’re talking about, people love me,” Masaomi says. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Do you know what a general is?”

“Probably better than _you_ know what a general is.”

“A general is a politician,” Masaomi replies. “You don’t get to be a general without being able to play the political game. And no one knows that game better than me. Generals get where they are because they know how the world works—you schmooze, you make connections, you know the right people—”

“Yes, please, do continue explaining how military ranks work to me, Masa-chan, I’ve always been astoundingly ignorant about the subject—”

“Clearly, or you wouldn’t still be just a sergeant,” Masaomi says.

“You know what? Don’t listen to me. You go in there and you do your thing, Masa-chan,” Youji says. It is decidedly tempting to just let Masaomi hang himself with this conversation, but against all odds Seijuurou actually seems to want to live with this guy, and Youji does feel obligated to try and make sure the kids end up where they want to be.

“Youji, don’t tell me you’re actually _afraid_ of this man,” Masaomi says incredulously.

“He’s a _general_ ,” Youji says.

“Ugh, you used to be cool,” Masaomi says.

It would be very hard to explain just what it is exactly about General Fujimaki that makes Youji nervous. Youji really isn’t the kind of person who would typically be intimidated by authority, but Fujimaki wasn’t the typical authority figures that Youji had rebelled against in his past. He’s not sure he could explain it properly, but he does feel like it would be a mistake for Masaomi to underestimate the general. He opens his mouth to try and explain that, at least for Seijuurou’s sake, but then the door to Fujimaki’s office opens up.

“Oh, Kasamatsu-kun, Akashi-kun, it is nice to see you both.” Fujimaki smiles kindly at both of them.

Masaomi blinks in silence for a second—it has probably been a very long time since anyone used the “kun” ending when addressing him, and then smiles. “General Fujimaki, it is truly an honor to meet with you. Could I please have a moment of your time?”

“Certainly, Akashi-kun, I’d be happy to speak with you.”

The two step into Fujimaki’s office and close the door. Youji thinks that’s the politest he’s ever heard Masaomi be—he’s _never_ heard Masaomi use respectful keigo, he didn’t even know Masaomi knew _how_.

So. All things considered, Masaomi must have gotten the picture.

*

When Masaomi comes back out again, Youji is waiting at the door. “Well?” he asks urgently.

“I want that man to be my father,” Masaomi replies.

“Masaomi,” Youji says.

“I’m serious. Do you think he’d agree to enter my family? He’d make a badass General Akashi.”

“I’m not sure you can just randomly pick your own family members like that.”

“Why not? I’m choosing a son, I can keep going with this. Ooh, I really like that idea, I could pick out an entirely new family line. Do you want to be my brother or my cynical uncle? I think General Fujimaki should also be your father, you’ve always needed a new family.”

“I’m leaving you now,” Youji says, walking away.

“Youji, don’t walk away, I have ideas for further Akashi family members, this is brilliant. We could rule the world!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone requested Masaomi and General Fujimaki interacting. This short didn't quite hit that because I thought it would be more fun from Youji's POV, but the idea of Masaomi and Fujimaki interacting was amazing =D


	24. Akashi and Seijuurou

Seijuurou says it first.

He said it first and he said it easily. They were on a date one night and he pressed in close and said, “I love you, Kouki, you know that, right?”

And Furihata had blushed quite red and stammered that of course he knew that, he felt the same way, he was so happy…

It was not the first time Furihata had said that, Akashi reflects. But, irrationally, he’s hung up on the fact that the first time Furihata had said it, he had also been talking to Seijuurou.

*

Seijuurou says it first, and really Akashi should be able to say it too, and he recognizes that it is completely absurd that he’s a bit obsessed with the fact that Seijuurou has said it and he has not. It is beyond ridiculous that he is apparently jealous of _himself_ , and moreover, feeling slightly inferior to his own second personality for being able to say something so easily when he can’t. (And isn’t that why Seijuurou was “born” to begin with? Because he could do things Akashi could not? It would be ridiculous to object to that _now_.)

*

He’s overthinking things. He _knows_ that. (But it’s what he _did._ He was the leader, the captain. He’s supposed to analyze every aspect in order to understand what is happening and come up with the best possible solution). Analyzing himself seems a bit different than analyzing an assassination mission or even a basketball game, but it’s a challenge all the same.

For example, he knows that he doesn’t begrudge Seijuurou the time he spends with Furihata. That would be counterproductive, for one thing, but also unfair. If you measure things out, he spends much more time with Furihata than Seijuurou does.

He knows, also, that he is not jealous of the kisses that Seijuurou shares with Furihata, any more than Seijuurou would be for the kisses _he_ shares with Furihata. He knows, that all things considered, he doesn’t differentiate between “Akashi Seijuurou.” He is always the same person. He just happens to be two different versions of the same person.

So he has no idea why it bothers him that Seijuurou has said _I love you_ when he has not.

*

He is on a date with Furihata, and he feels like the statement is there in everything he does. It worries him, sometimes, how obvious he is. He is sure that anyone who sees them would see what he feels in the way that he looks at Furihata, in his proximity, in the way he speaks to the other boy, in his every mannerism. And it distresses him, because he has not lived the sort of life that would allow him to make his weaknesses so easily known. (This is, perhaps, another reason why he doesn’t want anyone in his life to meet Furihata).

Surely, he is far too obvious, and surely Furihata _does_ know how he feels. Just like he is confident about how Furihata feels.

But the unsaid still hangs over him, looming, like a ghost.

*

**The easiest solution, of course, would be for you to just say it.**

It is not often that Seijuurou offers him counsel, not unless they are about to switch. But it’s like Seijuurou is exasperated with Akashi’s behavior and feels the need to say something.

It is an unprecedented bit of advice and Akashi chooses to ignore it entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was combining a few prompts of what Seijuurou does when when Akashi is on a date with Furihata, and also the first time "I love you" was said. I headcanon that Akashi and Seijuurou don't really talk to each other except when about to switch, so it was a fun exploration! =)


	25. Firewall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before they move out of the JSDF

We have to tell him,” Momoi hisses.

“No, no we don’t,” Kise whispers back, a tad desperately. “He voted for our side, Momoicchi. Against all odds, he’s _approving_ the idea of us moving out of the base and in with our respective guardians. I don’t see any reason why we should bring up anything that might change his mind—”

“Kichan!” Momoi scolds, puffing up in outrage, “He is _one of us._ He is _our leader._ And he could be in _danger._ We are not going to risk his life just because you want to have sex with Kasamatsu Yukio!”

Kise scowls profoundly and hunches down. “You don’t need to put it like _that._ He must want to move out, too, is all I’m saying, I don’t think we need to raise unnecessary alarm just because—”

“Kichan!”

“Oh, _fine!_ ”

“And what, exactly, are you two referring to?’

Both Momoi and Kise jump, startled by the unexpected voice that interrupted their hushed council. Akashi stands in the doorway, looking pleasant but also commanding, like he’s definitely not going to let them escape this conversation and also like it could be potentially dangerous for the two of them if they don’t reply.

Momoi steps forward. “I— _we_ —are just a little concerned about you living with Akashi Masaomi, that’s all.”

“Oh?” Akashi says, his expression unchanging.

“Well, he’s a bit of an unknown,” Momoi says, suddenly a little unsure about how to broach the subject. It’s why she had asked for Kise’s advice to begin with, even though he proved to be no help at all. “He’s not like the soldiers, you know, who we’ve been living with for the past three years. He could be a threat.”

It is still next to impossible to guess what Akashi is thinking, but then, Momoi has always had a hard time reading _this_ Akashi, and not the one she had grown up with. “Is there a particular reason why you think so?” he asks.

Momoi swallows, and looks to Kise for help, but he’s looking to his feet in an utterly useless way. “I tried to hack his computers—just to check up on him! I did that for all our future guardians, because that’s what I _do_ , I find background information—”

“Yes, Satsuki, I know,” Akashi says.

“Right,” Momoi falters. “Well, I _couldn’t_ , you see. He has exceptionally good firewall.”

“And?” Akashi says.

Momoi completely flounders, because what does he mean, _and?_ “I’m a Pink Two,” she says, pulling herself up, “And I am very good at what I do. There’s only been a couple times when I can’t get into someone’s system. I know you all seem to think that I know everything that Teiko did because I hacked _their_ files, but I _don’t,_ because everyone seems to forget that Teiko’s systems were _also_ made by Pink Twos.”

“Yes, Satsuki, I am aware of those limitations, I am still not—oh, I see, you think that Masaomi must also have access to Pink Two developed technology.”

“Well, _yes,_ ” Momoi says, exasperated. “We know Teiko _had_ corporate sponsors, and he _is_ very rich, and he came out of _nowhere_ , and all things considered, it’s not impossible that Akashi-san was involved.”

Akashi is smiling now, in a serene, smug sort of way. “Thank you for your concern, Satsuki, but I assure you, I am 100% confident that Masaomi was not involved with Teiko.”

“But how?” Kise blurts out. “How can you be confident of that?”

“Because,” Akashi says slowly, “If Masaomi had been involved with Teiko, it would not have taken them so long to develop a Success.”

He exits at that point, leaving Kise and Momoi to stare at each other, wondering through the implications of _that_ statement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the scene when Momoi tries to hack Masamoi's computers, which has been alluded to before. This actually will get referenced in the next longer stories, so I was glad I got to write!  
> =D


	26. Abe's Induction

Abe is not entirely sure what he’s doing here but he’s fairly certain he doesn’t like it.

It had, in fact, probably been doomed from the start, when he got a random text from a guy he’s only met once in a men’s bathroom in a department store in Tokyo. The, “Stole your number from Furihata! Let me know when you’re in town next!” message, followed by a string of animated emoji, was something he would have ordinarily ignored.

The name _Furihata_ is the only thing that makes him reply back, because Furihata is important to Mihashi, and at least he’s met Furihata a couple of times, even if they’re not exactly close friends.

So now he’s in Tokyo, and he’s holding a teal shirt in his hands, and he’s stuck on, _what the fuck is happening right now._

*

“This is the Miracle Boyfriends Club!” Takao Kazunari says cheerfully, “And this is the special induction ceremony for Abe Takaya. Huzzah!”

“Huzzah,” is chorused with varying degrees of sincerity throughout the room.

“What,” Abe says, in a slightly strangled voice. He’s looking for sanity somewhere in this room, but the only people he even remotely knows are Takao and Furihata, and they’re both wearing colored shirts of their own declaring, “I Believe in Miracles.” (The man named Himuro is also wearing a colored shirt. Abe suspects that the people who are not wearing the shirts—Kageyama, Kagami, and Kasamatsu—are the sane ones of this group, and he’s inching towards them for safe haven even though he doesn’t know any of them).

“Why teal?” Himuro asks.

“Because it’s green and gold combined, duh,” Takao says.

“Why didn’t you just get him a gold shirt? We don’t have one of those,” Himuro points out.

“Gold looks too much like yellow, when made by cheap T-shirt making companies,” Takao says, and then grins, “And besides, it was very important to me that we represent all the colors of the rainbow.”

Abe has no idea what he’s talking about, but Himuro rolls his eyes.

“It’s not even technically accurate,” Kagami says. “The Mihashi kid isn’t a Miracle, right?”

“We are not being elitist,” Takao says loftily. “Mihashi is an honorary Miracle, so Abe is an honorary Miracle Boyfriend.”

“Can I not be?” Abe asks. “I’m pretty sure I’d rather not be.”

“If I have to suffer so do you,” Kageyama mutters under his breath. Abe would try to refute that claim, except he’s pretty sure if their situations were reversed, he’d feel the same way.

*

“So what exactly does this club do?” Abe asks after awhile, still talking to the three he’s dubbed the sane members of the group.

“Nothing much, besides take embarrassing photos Hinata still hasn’t let me live down,” Kageyama says darkly.

“The is the first time we’ve ‘officially’ gotten together since the inaugural meeting,” Kasamatsu says. “So pretty much we only ever meet when we get a new member.”

“The rest of us—the basketball players, I mean—sometimes we get together during tournaments and stuff,” Kagami says.

“Don’t you live all around Japan?” Abe asks, confused. “Wouldn’t that mean you’d all have to make it Nationals?”

“Yeah?” Kagami says, confused.

“Never mind,” Abe says, suddenly irritated by the easy assumption that all the basketball players in the room regularly made it to Nationals. “So, this is weird, right? It’s not just me?”

“Oh, it’s definitely weird,” Kasamatsu agrees. “But, in a good way, I guess. The Miracles—they all went through stuff no one else can understand, yeah? So in some ways, no one else can understand what it’s like to date them. It’s good to remember there are people who can relate.”

From across the room, Abe spots Furihata. Furihata is the only one here who knows what _Mihashi_ went through, and he has questions. He wouldn’t be comfortable asking those questions, not yet. But, he reflects, if he goes to a couple more of these stupid “meetings” then maybe eventually he can.

“I’m not wearing the shirt,” Abe announces.

“The only sane response,” Kasamatsu says dryly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got to some long ago prompts to formally induct Abe into the Miracle Boyfriends Club =)


	27. Kasamatsu and Aomine

Kasamatsu has never spent a great deal of time with the other Miracles, despite the fact that he’s known them all the longest. He understands now that had been entirely Kise’s intent, and he thinks it’s a good sign when Kise suggests they go shopping with Aomine and Momoi. It means that the other boy has finally accepted that Kasamatsu isn’t going anywhere, that he doesn’t need to be so possessive of Kasamatsu’s time, that he doesn’t have to view everyone as a potential threat who might take Kasamatsu’s attention away from him. Kasamatsu definitely approves of all the implications of the progress Kise has made over the years.

He just wishes Aomine wasn’t so damn _weird._

*

‘Weird’ might be the wrong word, he thinks. _Unsettling_ is probably the more accurate description. Kasamatsu has often thought Aomine is like a wild animal on the court—all instinct and agility and fierce power. Aomine is _loud_ on the court—not vocally, but his presence shouts at everyone who watches. He’s someone you pay attention to, whether you want to or not.

Now they’re not on the court, they’re hanging out in a shopping mall plaza. Momoi and Kise are cooing over some magazine and Aomine is just staring. Watching, silently, the people who are around them, watching anyone who approaches, watching Kasamatsu.

It’s like he’s on the alert. Quiet, and stealthy, like a hunter.

And it’s very unsettling.

*

He gets up to buy a drink, mostly to catch his breath more than anything else. He likes all the Miracles, but they can be intense, even when they’re just out having fun.

When he turns to head back someone bumps into his shoulder and says, “Watch it.”

“Sorry,” Kasamatsu says immediately.

“Oh, you’re _sorry?_ ” the guy says, and his two buddies snicker. “If apologies were enough we wouldn’t need the cops.”

Kasamatsu blinks because it’s just so stereotypical it’s absurd. He’s never had much use for overt displays of machismo, and has no desire whatsoever to engage. “I am very sorry,” he says, mildly. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Hey, you think—”

Something slams on the table next to them, causing everyone to jump. It’s Aomine, suddenly there, bristling and so obviously ready to fight. “He said he was sorry. You have a problem?”

And Kasamatsu will say this for the guys, they clearly recognize the bigger threat.

Kasamatsu would laugh at how quickly they exit, if he wasn’t so thoroughly confused.

*

“Are you _protecting_ me?” Kasamatsu exclaims.

Aomine’s scowl is more petulant than threatening. “Yeah, so?”

So you’re my junior, Kasamatsu thinks, so you don’t even go to my school, so I barely know you, so I don’t need protecting and definitely not from _you._ All of those things seem a bit too harsh to say. He does say, “ _Why?”_

“Do you even understand what would happen to him?” Aomine says, his whole manner shifting and the anger in his voice gives Kasamatsu goosebumps. He is once again reminded of a predator. “If anything happened to you, that would be it for him, you get that, right?”

Sometimes, it still makes him uncomfortable. How much he means to Kise. It scares him sometimes. Not because he doesn’t reciprocate, but because it’s slightly terrifying being that important to anyone. He is, perhaps, a bit wary against being someone’s _all._ And. Well. He does know. He saw a bit of what Kise would be like, when they went to Iwatobi.

“I do get it,” he says, his voice gruff. “But you don’t have to treat me like glass.”

Aomine narrows his eyes. “I don’t think you do. You have too much power over him. I wish I could have stopped it before it got this far. If you ever hurt him…”

“Wait,” Kasamatsu frowns, “Are you protecting me or threatening me?”

“I can do both,” Aomine says. “You’ve always been Kise’s biggest weakness and his biggest threat.”

Those are, Kasamatsu thinks, both roles he very much does not want to have in Kise’s life and he scowls at the Miracle for saying it. It also distinctly chafes to hear this from _Aomine_. He pulls himself up straight and raises his chin (not that it makes much of a difference, since Aomine is taller than him) and he refuses to show any kind of submission to a kid two years his junior. “I would _never_ hurt Kise,” he growls, and if Aomine were anyone else Kasamatsu might be holding him by his collar. “And I don’t need to _you_ to keep me in line _or_ protect me.”

Aomine, to his surprise, just smirks and slings an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner. “Sure, sure, _senpai,_ whatever you say.”

“Hey!” Kise says when they get closer to the table. “No touching Senpai, Aominecchi! Only _I_ get to touch Senpai, those are the rules—ow!”

“Shut up, brat,” Kasamatsu says. The tap against Kise’s head is barely a flick. He thinks Kise’s “ow” is mostly reactive, part for show, just like Kasamatsu’s tapping is a show. (He could never actually hurt Kise.) When he sits down again, he takes Kise’s hand in his under the table, and his skin grows warmer when Kise looks at him in that intensely-focused _Kise_ way.

Even though he’s not looking in their direction, he feels Aomine and Momoi’s gaze, and thinks probably all the Miracles are watching him and watching out for him, and it’s a strange feeling, but not a bad one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was me combining two prompts, 1) to have the Miracles be protective of each other's significant other (something I totally headcanon!) and 2) to have someone warn Kasamatsu about hurting Kise. Aomine seemed like the kind of person who would do both at the same time =D


	28. Like Kuroko

“Your playing style is a little bit like Kuroko and Taiga,” Himuro remarks and Takao can’t stop himself from scowling. “You don’t like the comparison?”

They’re having lunch at Maji Burger in between games for the Tokyo InterHigh. Himuro, Takao gathers, is only here briefly to bid everyone good luck and for the “obligatory Miracle Boyfriends Club meeting” that usually just consists of Takao, Kagami and Furihata having lunch. Kasamatsu, who has graduated and actually _is_ in Tokyo and could much more feasibly stop by for a hello, did not make an appearance. (Takao suspects he does not take his club responsibilities seriously. He’ll have to be removed from his position as Vice President).

“Would _you_ like it if Murasakibara compared you to Kuroko?” he replies.

Himuro laughs—a quiet, polite sort of sound— “No, when you put it like that. Does Midorima compare you to Kuroko a lot, then?”

“He used to,”  Takao acknowledges that he hasn’t heard the comparison lately, and even though he knows where Midorima’s admiration from Kuroko is coming from, he still chafes slightly at being thought of similar. (Perhaps, he thinks snidely to himself, you just don’t want to be a Kuroko substitute. Which would be absurd, he tries to reason back with himself. It’s not like he’s competing with Kuroko where Midorima is concerned.)

“I can see it,” Himuro allows. “There are similarities.”

“Dude, he is _nothing_ like Kuroko,” Kagami says. He’s speaking with a mouth full of like, five hamburgers, so it’s a bit disgusting, but Takao beams at him anyway, feeling gratified.

“Thanks!”

“There’s nothing wrong with being similar to Kuroko’s basketball style, though,” Furihata says, frowning. “And I think you and Midorima work really well together, so I think that’s cool. I think it’d be awesome if anyone thought I was like Kuroko—why are you guys staring at me like that?’

“You guys” means Himuro and Takao, since Kagami is largely indifferent to this conversation and still has nine hamburgers left to eat.

“No reason,” Himuro says, easily and disarmingly. Takao admires that about the older man—he’s got a very good poker face. Takao just drinks from his soda in what he hopes in a nonchalant manner.

It is easy to forget that Furihata wasn’t there from the beginning, and he hadn’t been at the hospital that night the Miracles revealed why they were all hung up on Kuroko. And not going to the same school as Akashi, he probably didn’t ever have that brief period of wondering that everyone else had about whether or not his Miracle was in love with Kuroko.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Furihata,” Takao says. “You don’t play on the same team as Akashi, so it won’t ever come up.”

“I suppose not. And I don’t think I could do what Kuroko or Mayuzumi does anyway,” Furihata says.

Takao is glad they change the subject after that, though. No reason to give the guy a Kuroko-complex if he doesn’t have one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was for the Miracle Boyfriend's thoughts on Takao and Kuroko as similar.


	29. Sleep

Kuroko wakes up in the middle of the night feeling drowsy, warm, and vaguely suffocated. It’s a strangely peaceful feeling; he wakes up feeling safe, so he knows he is not in danger, despite the fact that he’s having trouble breathing.

He recognizes Kagami’s body right away—even in darkness, the contours of Kagami’s body are very familiar to him. The feel of him; his scent, his outline against the shadows. The absurdly endearing snores also solidify the sense that Kuroko is somewhere safe and loved; he likes hearing Kagami snoring beside him because it’s a reminder that Kagami is here, that he is not alone, that Kagami will always be here.

It is not all that unusual for Kuroko to wake up with Kagami sprawled on his side of the bed. Either pressed up against him or, like now, sprawled half on top of him, pinning him down like he’s a very comfortable body pillow. Kuroko figures that Kagami is used to sprawling, and hasn’t quite mastered the art of sharing the bed with another person. Even the fact that they bought a bigger bed hasn’t seemed to resolve the issue, this just seems to be more space that Kagami can sprawl in.

Kuroko doesn’t mind, most nights. The weight is another one of those comforting things; the reminder that he is not alone. And on the nights when he is not quite up for Kagami’s half-smothering octopus-like affection, it is easy enough just to shove him aside and get him to roll over again. (At first, he was afraid of waking Kagami up, and was much more delicate with the whole process. But now he just foists Kagami in the opposite direction with only slightly less force than his regular Ignite Pass. Kagami, Kuroko has discovered, is a very sound sleeper when there is not a basketball game to keep him up at night. Very little wakes him.)

He’s feeling particularly smothered at the moment and so tries to leverage Kagami onto his side and off of himself. After a few seconds of struggling it seems like a pointless endeavor and eventually he notices why. Nigou has broken into their bedroom and is now blissfully asleep on Kagami’s back.

This would, ordinarily, be adorable. Except Nigou has gotten bigger lately (and, more to the point, _heavier_ ) and now Kuroko is on the bottom of a (literal) dogpile.

Fully awake now, he wiggles but is very firmly stuck. He stops moving and huffs. He _could_ shove the dog, and then the boyfriend, and be free to breathe in peace.

But the Nigou looks really cute on Kagami.

And Kagami will be so adorably outraged when he wakes up to find the dog on him.

So Kuroko nestles in and decides he doesn’t really need to breathe all that much. He’s plenty comfortable as is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was for Miracle Boyfriends sleeping on Miracles so the Miracles can't move. I could only do Kagami and Kuroko, and I really wanted to do shameless fluff for those two =)


	30. Pamphlets

“Oh, Akashi, you dropped something—”

Akashi turns to see what Furihata is offering him, only to find the other boy looking down, perplexed, at the pamphlet in his hands. Akashi sees the pamphlet and freezes.

“Er,” Furihata says, “Why do you have pamphlets for wedding venues in Tahiti in your school bag?”

Akashi thinks rapidly for a few seconds. The honest explanation would be like this: _Well, Furi, it irritates my father that he hasn’t met you yet and I enjoy tormenting him with that fact as much as possible by leaving wedding pamphlets where he can find them. In retaliation, he has clearly snuck one into my bag in hopes that you would find it._

The honest approach is _probably_ not going to help in this situation. It would only distress Furihata. _Well played, father._

“Oh dear,” Akashi says, smiling, “I didn’t know I was still carrying those. I’m helping an employee plan her wedding and I must have walked away with them.”

“Oh, that makes sense. That’s so nice of you!”

Akashi feels a momentary pang of guilt. He does hate lying to Furihata.

“Tahiti, though. She must be rich.”

“Very,” Akashi says, seizing the opportunity, “Do you like the idea?”

“Marrying in Tahiti?” Furi frowns. “No, I’ve never really saw the point of destination weddings.”

_Good to know…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for Furihata's thoughts on Akashi's wedding plans in the future, but I'm not planning on writing too far into the future for this series, so this was just a quick consolation prize, I guess? Sorry!


	31. Youji and Sousuke

In the aftermath of Sousuke’s life being turned completely upside down, the strangest thing is still the presence of the infamous Uncle Youji.

The man spent a few days talking to the Ophiuchus’ elders—Haruka and Makoto’s parents, for the most part, and a few other people Youji had gone to high school with. And all things considered, Youji’s life must be in many ways as turbulent as Sousuke’s right now. Everything Youji thought about his own childhood can now be examined under the light of the Legacy, and there’s things about himself and his family history that he never knew before. There’s probably a lot of implications there that he hasn’t even begun to think through properly.

(Sousuke’s life has just been irreparably shifted and will never be the same again. But at least he is still the same person he always was. Uncle Youji, Sousuke thinks, now has to reevaluate himself with this new information. It’s what every Legacy child undergoes, after the Ceremony, and family revelations like these are never easy to process).

So they haven’t talked much, and Sousuke isn’t entirely sure he does want to talk to the man—not yet. He’s just betrayed all the family he has ever known—he’s not so sure he can jump straight into embracing the family he has left.

“Don’t be an idiot and go talk to him,” Rin says gruffly, touching his wrist.

“It’s not—that simple,” Sousuke says.

“Sure it is,” Rin says with zero sympathy. And then he leaves abruptly.

Sousuke has just long enough to wonder why he has been so quickly abandoned by his boyfriend before he hears someone cough and say, “Er, hi.”

His uncle stands there, looking as awkward as Sousuke feels. “Hi,” Sousuke says, wishing there was a way out of this conversation.

“So you and Yukio—you’ve been in contact all this time?”

Sousuke bristles slightly although he’s not sure why he instantly feels defensive. “Up until you got involved with the Teiko Projects. Then it seemed better not to—get him involved.” He knew how the Legacy felt about Teiko, and he’d tried to distance himself from Kasamatsu after that.

“Yeah,” Youji says. “That makes sense. I just—didn’t know. That you guys talked.” He sighs then. “Yukio always puts more thought into things than I do. I’m sorry.”

The apology feels a bit like it’s coming out of nowhere. “For what?”

“For not caring.” Youji meets his gaze then. “I didn’t, you know. I didn’t give a damn about you. Or Kenji’s children. I didn’t want to.”

Sousuke’s jaw tightens, and he _is_ angry, but probably not the way Youji expects. “I loved my father.”

Youji just snorts. “Yeah. OK. I didn’t. Love your dad or anyone else in that family. But it must have been hard for you, so I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t owe me anything.” Youji must have seen him and Rin together, he must think—but it wasn’t like that. Sousuke isn’t like his uncle, he _tried_ to be a good son, and a good soldier, and he tried very hard not to be like his wicked Uncle Youji.

“Probably not,” Youji acknowledges. “But if you ever _do_ need something—or if you ever need to talk, or whatever. Here’s my number.” He hands Sousuke a card and Sousuke takes it. He watches uncle walk away and he feels relieved now that the conversation is done.

For a brief second, he’s tempted to throw the number away. But after awhile he tucks it in his wallet. He won’t make the call now; maybe not anytime soon. But someday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for Sousuke's interactions with his Uncle Youji =D


	32. Go Fish

“Are you guys playing _Go Fish?_ ” Masaomi asks incredulously, after strolling into their break room. He pulls up a chair and sits next to Youji, and stares at the rest of the soldiers in a moderately baffled way. “How incredibly wholesome of you all.”

“We can’t play poker, Youji cheats,” Michiru explains.

“I can’t help it,” Youji says meekly, “It’s a self-defense thing after years of playing with this guy, who is the ultimate cheater.” He jerks his thumb at Masaomi.

“Oh, that’s bullshit,” Masaomi says.

“You don’t cheat at poker?” Sayuri asks.

“Of course I do. Although, I can’t help it if I have an eidetic memory. It’s actually more work for me _not_ to count the cards. But I refuse to take responsibility for this man’s delinquency; he was cheating way before we met. He wiped the floor with me on our first game. First time that ever happened.”

“You were such an easy mark,” Youji says fondly. “Michiru, do you have any fives?”

“No. Go fish,” Michiru says.

Youji stares at her. “I know you have fives, because you asked Sayuri last round if she had any fives, and also, there aren’t that many cards left in the game.”

“No, I have no fives,” Michiru says. Youji is on his last card, so it’s easy to understand where her reluctance is coming from.

“Give me your five, Michiru.”

Michiru stuffs her cards down her shirt. “What cards? I have no cards.”

“Do you think putting the cards down your bra is really going to stop me from getting them?”

“Here? In front of my young, impressionable niece? Who is also your subordinate? You wouldn’t dare.”

Sayuri snickers. “Yes, Sergeant. You wouldn’t want to set the wrong example, would you? I might take any excuse I can get to grab at bras.”

“Well, this game got decidedly less wholesome,” Masaomi says mildly. “Also, you do know he cheats by dealing, right? So all things considered, he’s probably cheating at Go Fish.”

“What?” Michiru yelps. “Is that why you’ve won the last three rounds?”

“Thanks, Masa-chan,” Youji says, rolling his eyes, “I did not cheat in this game, I wasn’t even dealing, remember? You guys just suck at this. Also I feel the need to point out, I am not the one shoving cards down my bra.”

“I am clearly not playing this game right,” Sayuri says.

“If you’re not smart enough to cheat you’re not smart enough to play,” Masaomi says brightly. “Get the cards out of your bra, woman, and deal me in.”

“I am not playing cards with you, Masaomi,” Michiru says.

“We can play Crazy Eights,” Masaomi says. “Wholesome-like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the JSDF playing cards where someone is cheating, and I know nothing about poker =D


	33. Emperor Eye

On one hand, Furihata knows he doesn’t have any reasons to feel insecure. Even though they have a long distance relationship, he talks to Akashi and texts and emails him almost every day, and no one could be more attentive or loving than Akashi. Akashi also makes regular trips to Tokyo when he can, explaining that it is much more logical for him to make the trip because he has better access to travel. (Akashi has never flat out said, “Because I’m richer than you and also I have private jets and chauffeurs,” but it is sometimes heavily implied).

But Furihata feels it’s important that sometimes he is the one who makes the journey to Kyoto, and he’d feel better about the whole thing if he didn’t get the impression that Akashi didn’t quite _like_ it when he was here.

And now, a few of Akashi’s classmates have spotted him, and they’re talking to him, and Furihata wouldn’t say he was _jealous_ , exactly, but these girls are all incredibly pretty and also wearing very fancy clothes with designer handbags and he can’t but follow a certain train of thought along the lines of, “These girls are all way out of my league, which is fine because I have a boyfriend, except these girls all clearly like my boyfriend, and holy crap that probably means my boyfriend is leagues out of my league.”

Trying to convince himself that Akashi can’t be out of his league if they are actually dating doesn’t seem to be working, and he seems to be running in so many circles in his mind that he’s dizzy and distracted.

So he doesn’t notice when he accidentally wanders into traffic until the car almost hits him.

*

The honking gives him enough time to jump out of the way. He falls on his butt and scrapes his palms and he thinks, “Holy crap I could have died.” He has just enough time to wonder how many near-death experiences one person is reasonably allowed to have during high school before they’re officially deemed too stupid to live before Akashi is _there,_ in front of him, touching him everywhere.

“Furi, _Kouki,_ are you alright?”

“I’m fine, really,” Furihata says, laughing slightly. “Gosh, that was dumb.”

“Ooh, you’re bleeding,” one of the girls’ says sympathetically. “Here, I have a handkerchief—”

“ _Leave,_ ” Seijuurou snarls, glowing bright red. “All of you, get out of here.”

The girls abruptly turn around and leave, in a vaguely zombified manner.

“Seijuurou,” Furihata says, slightly taken aback. Akashi—both versions of Akashi—is usually very careful about when he uses Absolute Order.

“Are you sure you are unharmed?” Seijuurou asks.

“Yes, it was just a scrape,” Furihata says, showing him his hands. His palms _are_ bleeding, but the wound is shallow, it’s not anything worse than what he could have received during basketball practice.

Seijuurou cradles his hands carefully in his, rubbing his thumb along the uninjured side. “We are going home,” he announces.

“What? We still have a movie—”

“We are going back to Tokyo,” he says more firmly, glowing red again for a brief second. And Furihata falls silent, because if Akashi is trying to Order _him_ he must be very rattled. So he lets Akashi wrap an arm around his waist and walks silently alongside him, very confused, and very concerned.

*

It is only Seijuurou’s complete control over his own body that keeps him from shaking. He is furious with himself and how _unforgivably stupid_ he has been. He has been sloppy and he didn’t think things through, and after all of training from Teiko and Akashi Masaomi he _should have known better._

He has come, for better or worse, to depend on the Emperor Eye to warn him of danger. Gold had whole premonitions—he could see a whole mission before it happened and warn of every potential hazard. Seijuurou had only experienced that sense of clarity once, when he knew for certain what would happen to Teiko if they all ran away.

But he _does_ see danger. His foresight has always let him know when a threat to himself or his Generation was imminent. It had let him down only once and he hadn’t thought about it ( _he_ hadn’t _thought_ about it! Foolish and lazy and stupid!). When he had been abducted he hadn’t seen it coming and at the time he’d assumed that was because of something Teiko had done as a precaution—like the collars they created that inhibited his abilities.

He is not sure he can ever forgive himself for not making the connection sooner.

Furihata is immune to his abilities. A trait that Akashi has been very thankful about because it means he can never accidentally Order Furihata to do something against his will.

It never occurred to him that it also meant _he will never know if Furihata is in danger._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was combining a couple prompts for Furihata to get into some trouble and protective!Akashi as well as more knowledge into how Akashi's premonitions work. And I was SUPER excited about my realization on how these things could be combined! It might feature again in the longer story I have planned, since it seemed like an important revelation, sooo, think of this as a snippet into that longer story?


	34. Shorts redux

“I _absolutely_ agree with you, Takao-kun, volleyballs shorts are amazing!” Momoi says cheerfully. “I had the exact same thought when I visited Hinachan! I feel distinctly cheated with basketball. Not that the uniforms are _bad_ too look at per se, but with the amount of time I spend checking out guys, I think I’d like a little more service, if you know what I mean.”

“Momoi-san!” Sakurai exclaims, sounding a tad betrayed.

“Well, what did you think I was doing when I study the players?”

“ _Data analysis,_ ” Sakurai exclaims.

Momoi smiles. “I can do both, I am a _very_ good multi-tasker.”

Takao is not entirely sure how he ended up chatting with the two Touou classmates, or exactly how they got on the topic of shorts, but he does feel like he’s finally met someone who can speak his language. “Right? I’ve always been weak for legs. And thighs the size of mountains. And those volleyball players have that in spades.”

“I wish Daichan appreciated legs more!” Momoi says. “I’m super proud of my legs, see?” She pulls out her cellphone and with what must be the extraordinary abilities of a technopath, she pulls up the photo she wants instantly to show it to Takao and then Sakurai.

The sight of Momoi is very short, white booty shorts and an adorable pink top is largely wasted on Takao, but he can appreciate the aesthetics. “As you should be.”

“I’m, err, fairly certain Aomine-kun is appreciative of your, err, other assets,” Sakurai says, blushing faintly.

Momoi tosses her hair. “But I am amazing in so many ways and should be appreciated for all of them!”

“Very much so,” Takao soothes.

Momoi beams, “And you? Ever wears short shorts for Midorin?”

“Not exactly,” Takao says, but then he feels compelled to provide his own photographic evidence of the deservingness of his legs, and he pulls out the victory selfie he’d taken in a manic sort of way after the whole thing with 7284. “I, err, had this on, when I was seducing—someone.”

“When you were—oh,” Momoi says, then she whistles when she sees the photo, “Yes, I could see how that would work. You were so impressive, Takao-kun! I’ve always wanted to seduce someone to their own destruction, but I sadly never have. Yet.”

Sakurai’s blush grows when the photo gets passed to him and then says, “You were destructively seducing people?”

“Only the one time,” Takao says reassuringly.

“You should wear shorts for Midorin! I bet he blushes adorably.”

“He does blush adorably, but eh,” Takao says. There’s nothing he likes more than making Midorima blush, but it would be a little odd to wear the outfit he wore to seduce Midorima’s evil twin, for Midorima.

“Or we could buy new outfits!” Momoi says. “We should go shopping sometime! Ryou-kun, you’re in, too, right?”

“I don’t have the legs for it,” Sakurai protests. “They’re too skinny.”

“Oh, true, but we could get you something else that’s sexy,” Momoi says.

“I have no one to dress sexy for,” Sakurai points out.

“You could with a new outfit!” Momoi says, and they all agree that’s flawless logic right there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million years ago I wrote that one short about Takao discovering the wonders of volleyball shorts, and then there were a couple follow up requests I didn't quite know how to answer. So this was my attempt to finally bring resolution to Takao's interest in volleyball shorts =)


	35. Aomine and Momoi

Momoi likes tormenting Aomine with talk of potential threesomes, because it’s such a reliable way to torture him. He gets huffy and jealous and sulky, and really, these are all traits that he should experience every now and then considering all that she has to put up with in terms of his laziness and gravure magazine obsession.

“If only Ryou-kun was here,” she sighs, fanning herself, “He’d be a much more attentive boyfriend.”

Aomine just snorts. “You don’t actually want to date Ryou.”

Momoi keeps herself from scowling, although he isn’t cooperating this time. But he’s right—she doesn’t _particularly_ want to date Sakurai Ryou, who is very much like her brother, any more than she actually ever wanted to date Kuroko. (She probably likes them for similar reasons. They _would_ both be very considerate boyfriends.) “Or Seirin’s coach,” she says mercilessly, “I’ve always thought that only another girl would truly understand me. Or maybe even Wakamatsu-kun, he’s kind of sexy when he—”

Aomine moves—quick and yet languid like a panther; he’s on top of her, with his hands braced on the floor. He’s not touching her, but he does have her pinned and they’re so close she can feel his body warmth. And he’s looking oddly serious, for Aomine, staring deep into her eyes and he says, “Am I not enough for you, Satsuki?”

And _oh_ that is not playing fair _at all._ He is super close and sexy and it’s doing terrible things to her pulse.

So she does the only reasonable thing and shoves a hand in his face and pushes, practically knocking him to the ground, getting up and storming away saying, “Stupid Dai-chan!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just a super quick AoMomo snippet to cheer up an anon =D


	36. Everlasting Friendship

“You guys—you guys are just the _best,_ ” Wakamatsu says, and he’s tearing up but he doesn’t even care. “I mean, you come out here, and you—” he gestures widely towards Tanaka, “You had to come so far! And you came just to support that little guy and that’s _beautiful._ ”

“Of course we did!” Tanaka says, his enthusiasm making his voice carry. “And I’d do it again! Hinata is on our team! Just like you supported your guy, that’s what teammates do. Tora here, though, you don’t have a Miracle teammate and you still came and that makes _you_ great.”

“They all suffered so much!” Yamamoto wails, “I had no ideaaa! And, and they just want to play sports, man, that’s just the most _purest_ thing in the world. It’s beautiful. I love how much they love sports. This whole thing is beautiful. YOU guys are beautiful and I love you.”

“I LOVE YOU, man,” Tanaka says, “I love BOTH of you!”

“I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS PARK,” Wakamatsu wails, and he’s flat out bawling now, but he’s with some really stand-up guys, and life really is beautiful.

*

“This is going to sound indelicate, but, do you think they’re drunk?” Daichi asks, looking down at his own punch and wondering if it was safe to drink.

“Well, I can speak for the volleyball kids,” Imayoshi says, “But Wakamatsu is just loud and gets louder when emotional. He’s had to feel an awful lot today, so honestly, I’m surprised he’s coherent at all.”

Kuroo nods in agreement. “Same with Tora. You wouldn’t think it from looking at him, but the guy is a gigantic softie. Cries during movies and everything. You’d really think he’d be more punk.”

Daichi eyes his fellow volleyball player and chooses not to point out the same thing could be said for the majority of the Nekoma team, including their captain. “Should we do something? It’s a little…disruptive.”

Considering they’re standing about thirty feet away from the yelling trio and can still overhear their conversation perfectly, that’s rather an understatement. The loud crowd is drawing a few looks and ordinarily, Daichi would have dragged Tanaka away by now but his heart isn’t in it today.

The basketball captain takes a very long sip from his own drink and then says mildly, “I don’t know about you, but I’m fairly happy pretending I don’t know them.”

_Solid plan,_ Daichi thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, I was trying to some longstanding requests for more scenes from the Special Diet after party, and I always wanted to write these guys, because I really do think they'd make good friends.


	37. Like a Meteor

“Is anyone else a little freaked out by how easy that was?” Takao ventures.

“It is a little bit of a _deus ex machina,_ ” Himuro admits.

“Right,” Kagami says, “It’s like, Kuroko always says he doesn’t give up on a game because you never know what’ll happen, yeah? Like, a meteor might come and strike down the rest of the team before the game is over. I feel like that was a little bit like a meteor.”

Everyone momentarily pauses, impressed Kagami knew what a _deus ex machina_ was.

Takao nods thoughtfully. “I mean, I didn’t even have to dress up like a hooker this time.”

“What?” Kasamatsu asks.

“Nothing,” Takao says. Kasamatsu, he realizes, was the only one here who didn’t see Takao in his hooker outfit and it’s probably for the best. Takao _wants_ Kasamatsu to like him.

The boyfriends (or soon to be boyfriends, Takao thinks, since if Kagami’s not there yet there’s no way he won’t be soon. That video conference in the morning distinctly looked like they’d been sharing a bed) are huddled together marveling quietly at the abrupt appearance of Orange. Hinata Shouyou. Volleyball players in general, really. Like they’d all just needed a second to re-group because of this sudden and fortuitous turn of events. “Man, I can’t believe another one exists.”

“I know!” Himuro says. “And he’s so adorable and tiny. I want to put him in my pocket.”

“Don’t be patronizing,” Kasamatsu chides.

“He could probably still kill you,” Takao feels the need to point out. Although he gets where Himuro is coming from. Hinata is currently standing next to Murasakibara and it’s making a rather hilarious contrast.

“Quiet,” Kasamatsu reprimands sharply, and Takao grimaces. He very much doubts anyone can hear them, but given what they just narrowly escaped from, it is probably best not to press their luck.

“Sorry, sorry,” Takao says. He eyes Kagami, wondering how he’s doing from this sudden reappearance. Takao doesn’t know a whole lot about Orange, but Midorima had told him that he’d been close to Kuroko. As much as he’s glad that someone _nice_ from Teiko actually survived, Takao can’t help feeling (guiltily) a little relieved that it’s not someone Midorima had a special bond with—he’s not sure he could compete with what it sounds like Hinata and Kuroko had. “How are you feeling about this?” he ventures, since Kagami _is_ a friend, sorta.

“Jealous as hell,” Kagami says. And Takao has to blink, because he can’t believe Kagami just flat out said it like that. Then Kagami continues with, “I mean, _he can fly._ ”

“He can jump,” Himuro corrects, sounding amused.

“Really high!”

“Dude, _you_ jump really high,” Takao says, still moderately baffled.

“Not like that! Man, I wouldn’t’ve wanted any of their other powers, but _flight,_ come on.”

“Really? _That’s_ the ability you’d want the most?” Himuro asks.

“Of course! Who wouldn’t?”

Takao shakes his head, thinking all things considered, Kuroko is probably better off that Kagami has a very simple point of view. He moves away then, because the volleyball players are just sticking with the volleyball players and the basketball with the basketball folk, and _that_ can’t continue. There’s all these players together, and a convenient basketball court, and clearly some bonding needs to happen and Takao’s going to make sure that it does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a very old request (and then a fairly recent one) to write the Miracle boyfriends' reaction to Hinata's appearance that I finally had the chance to write! =)


	38. Nightmares

Hinata doesn’t get nightmares all that often—he usually dreams about flying, or volleyball, or sometimes flying while playing volleyball—and when he does get nightmares, they’re usually just memories.

*

The first time he has a nightmare at the Hinatas, both Kousei and Sawako wake him up.

“Shou-chan, are you alright?”

And the nightmare disappears with their faces, and he can’t even remember what it is he’d been dreaming about. “Yeah,” he says.

“You were—distressed,” Kousei says. “Were you dreaming about—”

He doesn’t know how to finish that sentence and Hinata doesn’t either. “I can’t remember,” he says honestly.

They stay in his room that night, the both of them, and he sleeps very peacefully.

*

“Hey, Shouyou, _Shouyou!”_

Hinata jerks awake, only to have Nishinoya’s face right next to his, which causes him to flail some more. He’d shout but Nishinoya’s hand claps down over his mouth. “Were you having a nightmare? You were sorta whimpering.”

Hinata remembers dreaming about Room 101, and he feels like it can’t really be a nightmare, because nightmares are things that didn’t actually happen. They can’t be nightmares if they’re memories. Probably.  “No,” he says.

“Oh. Were you homesick? ‘Cuz that happens.”

“No! I’m not a baby!” Hinata says indignantly.

“It’s ‘sok,” Ennoshita says in the dark, and a hand pats his head. “I was homesick too my first time.”

“But I’m _not!_ ” he protests.

“Nothing to be ashamed about,” Nishinoya says, and he settles back into his own mat. “And if you’re dreaming about monsters, we’ll kick their butts.”

“I wasn’t,” Hinata sulks, but he falls back asleep to the sounds of Karasuno snoring and he doesn’t have any more dreams the rest of the camp.

*

After they start dating, it is not unusual for Hinata and Kageyama to spend the night at each other’s houses. Kageyama’s parents don’t seem to mind on grounds of it’s usually after practice and both boys are too exhausted to actually do anything and Hinata’s parents don’t seem to mind because they have a standing rule that Kageyama can absolutely sleep in Hinata’s room, so long as Natsu does too. (Natsu is a remarkably effective chaperone against indecent behavior).

“Hey, hey, Kageyama,” Hinata says, drowsily (because Kageyama’s parents are right—they’re usually way too tired to actually do anything).

“What, dumbass?” Kageyama grumps.

“Do I ever have nightmares?”

“What?”

“Like, do I ever wake you up because of—noises?”

“There was that time you woke me up by hitting me on the head,” Kageyama says pointedly.

“Right, because I was spiking in my sleep,” Hinata says, “And then you tried to smother me with a pillow.”

“Which was _justifiable_ ,” Kageyama says. Hinata agrees but doesn’t say so—Kageyama had actually been remarkably understanding after the attempted smothering (dreams about volleyball being an acceptable sort of reason for hitting him on the head).

“No,” Kageyama says, and his arm around Hinata is warm and comforting and firm. “You always look really nice when you sleep.”

“Oh, OK.” Hinata nestles in, thinking that it can only mean good things if he doesn’t have nightmares around Kageyama, and then he blinks awake and says, “Wait, how often do you watch me sleep?”

“Shut up, dumbass, or I’ll smother you with a pillow again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the Miracles to be comforted after nightmares, and I chose to fixate on Hinata =)


	39. Accountants

“Your American accountants would like to know if you’d like to claim your mistress as a dependent on your taxes.”

Masaomi peers up from his papers to stare at the expressionless face of his Executive Director, aka, Keeper of the Calendar, aka “I am not your secretary, stop calling me that,” Hinamori Akane.

“That seems like a question my Chief Financial Officer should be answering,” Masaomi says.

“Yes. Strangely, your accountants felt reluctant to bring up your mistress to a seventeen-year-old boy. Who is also your son.”

“I don’t see why, I’m very open about my sex life with Seijuurou. Or I would be, if he’d let me. And it’s not like he’s unfamiliar with the more erotic bodily urges. He has a boyfriend, presumably he’s getting some. Although, he hasn’t actually confirmed that, I should ask again—”

“Please do so, and let me be in the room when you do. In the meantime, your accountants are very distressed.”

“They’re accountants. I am pretty sure that’s just their default nature.”

Akane stares down at him and lowers her glasses in that way she has that clearly says, _I am not amused._

“Mind you, I also have no idea what hypothetical mistress these accountants are talking about,” Masaomi says. “Unless, of course, you mean Youji, which would be absurd, since _you_ know that he is not, in fact, my mistress.”

“The accountants were surprisingly unwilling to believe me when I told them that,” Akane says.

“Accountants have shockingly filthy minds. As it happens, I have and will always maintain I could afford a much higher class prostitute than Youji.”

“Would you please? A higher class prostitute might be cheaper in the long run.”

Masaomi cackles and takes out his cell phone. “I’m telling him you say that.”

“Go right ahead. While you have him on the line, please ask him for his tax information, I at least think we should be able to file deductibles on the purchases he made for the JSDF.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was combining some requests to feature Akane (who will appear in longer stories to come) and accountants interrogating Masaomi about Youji's expences. My quick lazy googling has lead me to believe that filing Japanese taxes is MUCH simpler than filing American ones, but I’m just running with this anyway because Masaomi surely does a lot of international business and his taxes are probably the exception to the usually uncomplicated rule. (*ssh* just let me have this one, I don’t even know how taxes in America work most days…)


	40. Babies: Prelude

“I always did want to have more children,” Kishitani Ryohei explains, after putting the photos of his daughter away, “But after Mina got sick… well, it wasn’t really possible anymore…”

“Why not?” Midorima asks.

Ryohei blinks at him.

“You could have still made more children on your own, yes?” Midorima asks.

Ryohei stares at him, slightly horrified. The children have a spotty education at best, something everyone on base has been trying to rectify, but Midorima had always demonstrated a keen understanding of the sciences and it had never even occurred to him…

“Shintarou-kun, you… you _do_ know where babies come from, right?” Ryohei asks.

“Of course I do,” Midorima says indignantly.

“Oh, good, of course,” Ryohei says, relieved.

Midorima pauses and then says, “Although, I always wondered where you keep your tanks.”

“The what?” Ryohei asks.

“The tanks, where the babies are grown,” Midorima says. “Teiko kept them in the med ward, but you don’t seem to have them on base. Are there independent facilities that take care of that for you?”

“Oh,” Ryohei says, “Oh, dear.”

*

“Huh,” Youji says. “In retrospect, it makes a lot of sense that they wouldn’t know.”

“Yes, well, this is something we need to correct right away,” Ryohei says urgently. He sought out Michiru and Youji as the soldiers who were more or less in charge of the Miracles’ welfare.

“You know…that…” Youji says slowly, and places a firm hand on Ryohei’s shoulder, “That sounds like a conversation someone with a medical degree should have with those kids.”

“Yes, absolutely, we should all—wait, what?”

“That _absolutely_ sounds like a conversation someone with a medical degree should have!” Michiru agrees with great enthusiasm.

“Don’t be absurd, this should be a group effort—”

“Oh no, we’re not qualified for that sort of thing, we’re just soldiers,” Michiru says, solemn. “You teach them medical stuff and we’ll teach them how to shoot a gun.”

“They already know how to shoot a gun!”

“Well, sounds like our job is finished then!” Michiru says. “Good luck, Sensei!”

“Come back here, you _cowards!_ ” Ryohei cries after the rapidly retreating soldiers.

*

Ryohei stares at the boys. They stare back at him. Nobuko had kindly offered to take Momoi aside and he’s hoping she’s having much better luck.

“That sounds like a very inefficient delivery system,” Midorima says tentatively.

“Well,” Ryohei says.

“I don’t know, I think it sounds fun,” Aomine says.

“How do they verify only the best genes are passed on?” Akashi asks.

“Well, you can’t, not really—”

Akashi frowns disapprovingly. “And if you’re only drawing upon two genetic donors, you can’t guarantee a wide range of variation.”

“Well, no—”

“That is very limited. No wonder humans are so inferior.”

“That’s not quite—obviously, there’s _ancestry_ , so it’s not exactly just two—”

“Nine months is a super long time,” Kise says. “I’d only do it for like, one month at the most. If I had to.”

“They don’t get to pick how long it takes,” Ryohei says.

“Can the parents take turns for the nine months?” Kuroko asks.

“No, not—no.”

“That does not seem very fair,” Kuroko says.

“It isn’t, generally—”

“How bothersome, I’m definitely never doing that,” Murasakibara says.

“Yeah, hey, how do they decide when it’s two guys?” Kise asks. “Is there a battle?”

“Oh, if it’s a battle, then I’ll win and I won’t have to,” Murasakibara say brightly.

“No, no, OK,” Ryohei says, “OK, I’m going to start again from the beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a follow up request to my "Babies" short story about how the initial conversation went when the Miracles found out about babies. =D =D


	41. Michiru's Interview

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a question on tumblr about the other guardians' interviews during the Special Diet. The rest of the guardians didn’t appear in the original scene because they didn’t exactly exist yet, although Fujimaki’s interview is mentioned in “I Kept My Promise.” I thought about it, and I figure, the Special Diet was primarily to investigate whether or not the JSDF had mishandled the Miracles/exposed the public to a known danger, so probably only the military was interviewed, and only the high ranking officers. So the analysts and doctors like Yumeko and Dr. Kishitani would not have been interviewed, and Masaomi as an unaffiliated citizen, also would not have been (although I’m sure they were all there). But Michiru as one of the first responding sergeants (like Youji) would have been, so here we are =D

Colonel Kobayashi Kyouma’s response to Michiru’s uniform is to stare at her flatly and say, “You are wearing the wrong jacket.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Michiru says.

“You’re wearing _my_ jacket,” Sayuri says.

“You are also wearing it incorrectly,” Kyouma says.

“Nope, I’m wearing it exactly the way I intended,” Michiru says.

“Please take this seriously, Sergeant Sakurai, our jobs are on the line,” the colonel says. He seems singularly unimpressed with the tightness of her shirt, particularly in the breast area, and also the fact that the top two buttons are unbuttoned. Michiru sometimes suspects he is a robot.

“Also, it’s not going to work,” Youji adds. “The Diet is being led by Kitihara.” At Michiru’s confused look he adds, “Kitihara _Reika._ You know, a woman.”

“Oh,” Michiru says, glancing over Youji’s shoulder as if she could verify the statement. “Nope, doesn’t change a thing. Same plan.”

“Don’t you dare,” Sayuri hisses.

“It’s like you have no faith in me,” Michiru says.

“I don’t have any faith in you,” Sayuri says.

*

As the first responding officers to the Teiko children and also guardians of Miracles, Youji and Michiru are the only sergeants called in for questioning during the Special Diet. When Michiru is called to the front she turns to her friends, unbuttons a third button (the top of a very lacy bra now visible) and blows them a kiss.

“Oh god, we’re all going to jail,” Sayuri says.

“She knows what she’s doing,” Youji says.

*

“Sergeant Sakurai, what do you recall from the night you first found the Miracles?” Kitihara asks.

“Oh, gosh,” Michiru says, fluttering her eyelashes, she makes a whining sound, “That was sooooo long ago! And there were, like, guns? It’s all kind of a blur.” She pouts and flutters her eyes again.

Kitihara’s eyebrow twitches. “Did you see the Miracles attack anyone?”

“How scary!” she says, dragging out the word adorably, “What a scary thought! I’d probably remember something like that.” She shudders, dramatically, drawing attention to her breasts as she does so.

“You. Are. A. Military. Sergeant,” Kitihara says through gritted teeth.

Michiru giggles, “Oh, but I don’t do anything _dangerous_ , that’s for the _men._ Surely _you_ understand, Kita-chan, _men_ handle all the _dangerous_ things. ” She drops her voice into a faux conspiratorial whisper that the entire room can hear, “And they look _so_ sexy in their uniforms, don’t you think? Give me a firm butt and nice arms in uniform _any_ day.”

“Sergeant Sakurai, I am finding it difficult to believe you’re really this airheaded.”

“You think I’m—how mean! Why would you say that?” Michiru’s lip starts to tremble, and very pretty tears start to form in the corner of her eyes.

Kitahara sighs and rubs her head. “No further questions.”

*

“Told you it would work,” Michiru says smugly when she returns.

“Way to set feminism back a hundred years,” Sayuri snaps.

“But you did notice she stopped asking me questions?” Michiru says. Youji surreptitiously bumps her fist.


	42. Midorima and Naoko

She gives him a plastic pink ribbon when they meet. “For Oha Asa,” she says shyly, and it’s the first real indication that Midorima has that Dr. Kishitani actually had been talking about him to his daughter.

(He already had a plastic ribbon. He’d bought it at the daisho before the move. But he surreptitiously throws that one away, because this one is clearly better).

*

“I am not very good with children,” Midorima had said in the car, as Kishitani drove him to what would be his new home.

“Naoko is looking forward to meeting you,” Kishitani said reassuringly. “She’s very shy, but I promise you, she’s very excited.”

That wasn’t quite what Midorima meant. He meant, _Children are very fragile and breakable and I don’t know how to talk to them because they’re like creatures from another planet and I can’t understand their experiences._

“Just talk to her like you would talk to anyone else,” Kishitani said.

Which was no help at all. Midorima has never been good at talking to anyone else.

*

She sits up straight when he sits up straight. He doesn’t think he’s supposed to notice, but he was trained to notice everything. She quietly adjusts her hold on her chopsticks to match how he holds his chopsticks. She starts adding “nodayo” when she talks and he feels guilty about that. She listens to Oha Asa every morning.

_Don’t_ , he wants to say. _Don’t be like me. I’m not someone you should be like. I’m not a good model at all._

*

“Which one is your favorite?” he asks, and she looks surprised and then happy and then shy, like she wasn’t expecting him to ask for her opinion.

“I like Sailor Mercury,” she says, “Because she is so elegant and smart.” He nods and this seems to embolden her to continue, “Ayumi-chan likes Sailor Jupiter because she’s tough. Ayumi-chan is tough too, so that makes sense. Ayumi-chan could probably beat up anyone, if she wanted.”

“That sounds like a useful skill,” Midorima says. He’s heard a lot about “Ayumi-chan” and is given to understand her opinion matters a lot to Naoko.

*

What he likes most is that she seems to understand he doesn’t like being touched. She will sit very close to him on the couch with just enough space between them and he appreciates that. She giggles when he braids her hair with his abilities and seems to think that’s better than if he’d done it with his hands.

“Is it OK if I call you Onii-sama?” she asks, and he hasn’t known her long but he thinks it must have taken a lot for her to ask the question.

“Do you… _want_ a big brother?” he is trying to say, _are you sure you want_ me _for a big brother?_

“Very much!” she nods emphatically. “Ayumi-chan has a big brother and I always wanted one too.”

“Why?” he asks, because he certainly wouldn’t want older siblings.

“So, you can do big brother things! Like braid my hair, and protect me—”

“Do you need protection?” he asks sharply, because he’s only known for a few weeks now but he’s already certain that if anyone has hurt this child he will _end_ them.

“Well, no, but you _could_ , right?”

“Right,” Midorima relaxes. “Yes. I could do that.” And he will. He’s sure he will. He clears his throat and says, “Yes, that would be…acceptable.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a couple questions for Midorima's relationship with his little sister =D


	43. Girl Friends

Momoi finds the photograph when they’re spring cleaning. It takes her a while to even recognize Michiru, who is younger in this photo and her hair is longer than Momoi has ever seen it. Then she feels mildly indignant, because she’d always assumed that a distinct lack of girl friends was something she and Michiru had in common.

“Michitan!” she says accusingly. “You said you got along better with men!”

“Eh?” Michiru says, walking over (gleefully abandoning her vacuum cleaner and enjoying the excuse to stop cleaning). “I do. All my friends are dudes, what are—oh.”

“You clearly had girl friends at one point,” Momoi says, feeling like she’s been lied to, “Where are they now?”

“Dead.”

It’s a bit like Momoi’s brain stutters, and she doesn’t fully comprehend what she just heard, but then she looks up at Michiru and finally notices her sad and soft expression as she gazes down at the photo. Michiru sighs, “Every woman in that photo is dead. Besides me, that is.”

Momoi looks down at the photo again and suddenly their happy expressions and laughter are deeply unsettling. It is a bit like she’s looking at a photograph of ghosts.

“Who—” she starts, but she already feels like she’s trespassed enough just by finding the photo, so she doesn’t want to continue.

“Imayoshi Setsuna,” Michiru says, pointing to the long blackhaired woman that the young Michiru has an arm around in the photo, “My little sister. And that’s Kasamatsu Hinami, and that’s Akashi Shiori.”

“Oh,” Momoi says, looking down at the photo with renewed interest. She’d known about Michiru’s sister, of course. And Kasamatsu Hinami…Momoi had heard about Youji’s wife. The woman in the photo and Kasamatsu Yukio have the same eyes. And Momoi had known Akashi Masaomi had a wife at one point, when she was looking into his background, but since the woman had been dead for awhile she didn’t look further. She hadn’t realized they’d all known each other.

“I had a friend,” she ventures. “White. She was my best friend, after Daichan. She died in Teiko.”

Michiru rests a hand on her head. “It sucks, doesn’t it?”

Momoi nods. It does. She often thinks her life would have been different now, if White had been able to escape with them.

“I do like my guy friends. But girl friends are important too, Satsuki. I want you to have that, someday.” She lets go and carefully takes the photo from Satsuki’s hands, and then moves away.

*

“Do you want to hang out sometime?”

“Why?” Riko says, sounding suspicious, and Momoi can’t help but bristle. It hadn’t been easy to make the phone call.

“Because I want to!” she says hotly. “Because I want to talk about something other than basketball for once! Because I want to go to a cafe! A _cute_ one! If you don’t want to, that’s—”

“Fine,” Riko says. “Sure. There’s one downtown—it makes bears out of whip cream–”

“Oh,” Momoi says, relaxing, “Yeah, I know the one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was whether or not Momoi ever got to hang out with girls, but I've wanted to write this scene for awhile because I have SO MANY headcanons about all of these women and I feel SO BAD for Michiru because all her friends are dead. But there will be more proper Momoi and Riko hangouts in the future, at some point!!


	44. Deleted "You Could Never Wear My Crown" Scene 3 - Reunion

On his fifth day in the hospital, Masaomi comes to see him.

He appears abruptly in his room and looks him up and down with an analytical eye and Akashi only watches him as he does so.

“You look remarkably healthy for someone who was reportedly in a coma for two days,” Masaomi announces. This is the first thing he says to Akashi after seeing him post-kidnapping. Masaomi flips through the charts the doctors left at the foot of his bed and says, “Your numbers are healthy. Why are you still here, Seijuurou?”

He is still here because Furihata is still here. But Akashi is not going to admit that to _anyone_ , much less this man. “The doctors thought it best to monitor my vitals and I have unfinished business to attend to,” Akashi replies mildly.

“Why were you even in a coma? You don’t have any external wounds.”

Akashi remembers something Midorima once told him about Kishitani Ryohei. Midorima had said, _“I don’t want him knowing what I did. I don’t want him to think of me as a monster.”_

“I took control of a man’s mind and then shot him in the head while I was still inside,” Akashi replies. He never saw the point in hiding who he was from Masaomi. “It had repercussions upon my consciousness that I have since recovered from.”

“Well, that seems like a remarkably inefficient way to kill a man,” Masaomi says, sitting down at one of the guest chairs in Akashi’s room. “You couldn’t have just Ordered him to kill himself?”

“It was the most optimal way available to me at the time,” Akashi replies.

“Hm,” Masaomi says, in a neutral sort of way. Looking down at Akashi he says, “I am sure you realize how disappointed I am with you on how this all went down.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Even making allowances for the fact that you are sixteen years old and any sixteen-year-old might find themselves in unfortunate life-threatening situations, I would have expected you to have resolved this more quickly and with less inconvenience to others.”

“I will endeavor to do better next time, Father.”

“Good,” Masaomi says, nodding once. “I have invested a lot of time, money, and resources in you as my heir, and it would be exceedingly annoying to have to start all over with someone else if something happened to you.”

“You could always sire a child yourself,” Akashi points out.

“What? And start completely from scratch? Have you ever been around a human baby? They’re the most useless creatures in existence. Dogs are more intelligent. Not to mention more useful.”

Akashi looks down at his hands. He doesn’t acknowledge what Masaomi said, but he knows it is the man’s way of letting him know that he had been concerned. Akashi has no intention of being sappy about this, but having just experienced a reminder of what his life would have been like had he never escaped Teiko, he can objectively state that the life he has now is preferable. (Not that he _would_ say it. He wouldn’t ever _say_ that. But still.)

“You give yourself too much credit for my own inherent superiority, Father. I have seen you with horses, I highly doubt you could train a dog, much less a human baby.”

Masaomi sputters and Akashi is glad at least that this can return to normal. He is glad he has a “normal” where he can return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for Masaomi and Akashi's reunion post-"You Could Never Wear My Crown," and since I am gleefully inserting Masaomi into that story after the fact, I was glad to have the chance to write it!


	45. Moving in with Masaomi

Masaomi does buy Akashi a white horse. Akashi wasn’t quite expecting that because he had been mostly joking at time when he made that demand. (No—joking isn’t the quite the right word—he doesn’t  _joke._  More like it was a test. He wanted to see what Masaomi would do. And Masaomi bought the horse. Point of interest, he also installed stables, five other horses to keep Akashi’s white one company, and hired a whole array of staff to attend to the horses).

Masaomi’s estate is not like any other place Akashi has ever lived. Everything is large and expansive, everything is almost needlessly extravagant. It was Masaomi who first told Akashi that luxuries were the divine right of the superior; and it’s not that Akashi  _wants_ anything, but he is somewhat fascinated by the extent of what Masaomi will allow.

So he says, “I want a car,” and Masaomi buys him a Ferarri. (He never drives it. He only  _loosely_ knows how, although he is sure he could master the art, if he wanted. He mostly just likes owning one). He says, “I want a Rolex, a laptop, a Yixing teapot,” and Masaomi buys him everything. Eventually Masaomi just hands him a credit card and says, “Buy anything you want,” and Akashi keeps testing this and buys increasingly expensive items that he doesn’t actually need.

At a certain point he has to actually ask (and he feels like he’s losing when he does, but he  _is_  curious), “Does it not bother you that I am spending all your money?”

“Should it?” Masaomi responds.

“At a certain point, I should think so. I do not believe it is the standard practice of parenting to allow children their every desire.”

“But I am not the standard parent,” Masaomi grins, “And you are not a standard child.”

“And what if I spent it all?” Akashi queries.

Masaomi laughs. “Is that what you’ve been trying to do? See if I have a limit? I’ll save you a lot of time, kid. This is a losing battle for you. I’m never going to stop you from spending money. Spend it all, if you want.”

He  _almost_  wants to do it, just to see if it’s a bluff. But he doesn’t think Masaomi ever bluffs. And since he stands to inherit all of Masaomi’s money anyway, it is not in his best interest to spend it frivolously. “May I ask why?”

Masaomi actually looks pleased by the question. “They say that money is power, and I won’t deny that. Money is power. But what rich people  _don’t_  like to acknowledge is that money is also their biggest weakness. And I will never allow any weakness. People who try too hard to hold onto their money only lose in the long run, so why bother?”

There is logic to that. And slowly, Akashi is beginning to understand how Masaomi works.

“Did you like spending lots of money, Seijuurou?” Masaomi asks.

“Yes,” Akashi says slowly, and he thinks in this small way, perhaps Masaomi wanted him to understand the perks of living in this household. And he has to admit, there’s an awful lot of perks. “But I am beginning to think you need someone better to manage your finances.”

Masaomi laughs again. “That’s what Akane-chan always tells me. What do you say, son? Want a job?”

“I insist on this job,” Akashi says. It is  _his_  future fortune, after all. Not that he wants to hold onto it, in that weak way Masaomi was discussing. But it still seems like a good idea not to have Masaomi in charge of the money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for Masaomi spoiling Akashi with extravagant things, and hahaha, not quite what happened, 'cuz that's not quite their relationship, but still fun to write!


	46. Furihata and the Flu

“Shintarou-kun, your…friend is here to see you,” Dr. Kishitani says from his doorway.

“Takao?” Midorima says, confused, since surely Kishitani would not be so hesitant to say Takao’s name, but he can’t think of anyone else who would be suddenly visiting him.

“No,” Kishitani says, and he seems equally confused. “Seijuurou-kun.”

Midorima is seconds away from saying, “I don’t know anyone by that name,” because he doesn’t know any Seijuurous in Shutoku, before his brain processes things. “ _Akashi_?” Kishitani nods. “ _Here?_ ” Kishitani nods again.

He has the distinct feeling that absolutely nothing good can come from the fact that Akashi Seijuurou is suddenly at his house.

*

They sit in the living room. Dr. Kishitani brought them tea, but it just sits between them, untouched. Naoko poked her head out to say hello but retreated back to her bedroom when confronted with the tense atmosphere.

“Why are you in Tokyo, Akashi?” Midorima asks finally, even though the real question is,  _Why are you in my house?_

Akashi looks stiff and withdrawn, which in turn only frightens Midorima, because surely something terrible must have happened ( _again_ ) for Akashi to look like that. Finally, Akashi speaks. “Furihata has the flu.”

After a beat, Midorima says, “…Ah.”

Because, strangely, he knows exactly what the problem is, and actually sympathizes quite a bit. Although, Akashi’s presence in his house still remains a mystery. “And… why are you not with  _him,_ then?”

Akashi sighs, long and suffering. He takes out his cellphone and presses a few buttons, then a loud and heavily congested voice starts speaking, “AKASHI SEIJUUROU I SWEAR TO GOD I’M GOING TO BE SO PISSED IF YOU SHOW UP AT MY HOUSE. I AM  _SNOTTY_  AND _GROSS_  AND _SUPER DISGUSTING_  AND YOU DO NOT NEED TO COME HERE  _FROM KYOTO_  TO STARE AT ME WHEN I AM SNOTTY AND GROSS AND DISGUSTING.”

“…Ah,” Midorima says again, after the message finishes playing.

“I was already on the plane,” Akashi says, and if he were any other person Midorima would think he was sulking.

“Had he told you before not to come?”

“Yes. Repeatedly.”

Midorima stops himself from saying “ah” again. “All things considered, if he is capable of being that loud, he is probably fine,” he offers, but Akashi doesn’t look like he takes consolation in this. There is a long silence and then finally Midorima says, “Would you like to play shogi?”

“Alright,” Akashi says.

*

For the first time in his life, Midorima is thoroughly beating Akashi at shogi and he can’t even enjoy it.

“Takao was sick once,” Midorima offers. Because he understand what Akashi is going through, and he feels the least he can do is sympathize. “It happens to humans. Fairly regularly, I am given to understand.”

“I know,” Akashi says, his lips tightening. “Humans are incredibly poorly designed. I somewhat understand the impulse to build a better one.”

It is just as well that Akashi came here and not to his boyfriend’s, Midorima thinks. He would not be a very comforting presence at the moment. “That is not a train of thought we should follow, Akashi,” Midorima says, as gently as he can while still being firm. Because Akashi  _might_ actually decide… and well, it’s better in the long run if Akashi doesn’t look into genetic engineering.

“Sometimes they just die,” Akashi says. “You understand that, don’t you? They just die. For no reason at all.”

“I do understand that.” Midorima says. Dr. Kishitani’s wife had died from cancer. It terrified Midorima to think that could happen without warning and there was nothing that could be done. He feels the need to point out, “But, to be fair, Projects did not have a very high life expectancy either,” because it’s not like death was something  _new_  to them. People died all the time.

“It’s different,” Akashi says.

And that’s true. It is different. Because they were Successes, and Successes did not break down. (Like White. He tries hard not to bring up White, since surely that will not help matters now.)

“Perhaps it would be best if you spent the night here,” Midorima says. He is a little worried about what Akashi might do, if left to his own devices.

Akashi must be worried about that too, because he just nods and says, “Thank you, Midorima. I appreciate it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for Akashi dealing with Furihata getting sick. Since I've written a couple renditions of sick!fic in this universe I wanted to do something slightly different and it came out quite angstier than intended.


	47. Roller coasters

Akashi steps off the roller coaster and tries to be subtle about the deep breaths he is taking and his efforts to remain calm and focused.

“That was fun!” Furihata says exuberantly. “We should go on another—Akashi? Are you OK?” 

He doesn’t close his eyes, because that would reveal that he is struggling, and it is important not to reveal his struggling. He fixates on Furihata’s voice like a point of harbor—he can concentrate on the sound and remain grounded. He smiles and says, “Yes, I am fine. Which one would you like to go on next?”

“Are you  _sick?_ ” Furihata asks incredulously.

A quick glance verifies that there are humans who are also reacting slightly to the roller coaster and that seems like a reasonable explanation so he says, “Yes, just a tad. I will compose myself soon.”

But this explanation only causes Furihata to withdraw. Akashi can see him pull back and then set his jaw in a determined way. “No, you’re not. You look like you did when you came back from—from  _that_  place.”

Occasionally even  _he_  forgets that Furihata was there and that he knows. Akashi swallows because it is very, very hard for him to admit this out loud but Furihata is looking at him with concern and a great deal of willpower and Akashi knows he’s not going to drop this. “I apologize, Furi,” Akashi says slowly. “I was not—prepared. I do not particularly enjoy being strapped in that tight and it reminded me slightly of the simulators Teiko had for—training. I will be better prepared mentally in the future, so I imagine this will not be a problem again.”

_This_  explanation only seems to make things worse. Furihata looks like someone just stabbed him and Akashi doesn’t know where he went wrong and what he can do to get him to stop looking like that. “Akashi—you don’t—I don’t want to go on them if it’s going to be painful for you! You don’t need to get  _used_  to it! It won’t be fun if it’s  _torturing_  you.”

“It will be fine,” Akashi insists. Because Furihata clearly had fun on these and Furihata deserves to have a boyfriend who can go on a roller coaster with him and Akashi will be  _damned_  if he can’t be that person. “I apologize for concerning you, it will not be a problem—”

“Because we’re not going on them again!” Furihata bursts out. “Akashi, you don’t always have to be the perfect boyfriend, OK? I want to be a considerate boyfriend to you  _too,_  and I want us both to have fun! It can’t just be me.” He cups Akashi’s face, and the gentle touch is a reminder of everything that is good in this world and Akashi relaxes somewhat.

At all things, he wants to win, and he really wants to win at being a good boyfriend. But looking at it from Furihata’s point of view, he can understand why perhaps his insistence on this matter might do more harm than good. Furihata is clearly not going to enjoy the roller coasters anymore, and even though Akashi hates that he did that, he wants to respect Furihata’s feelings on the matter.

“I just wanted you to have a good anniversary,” Akashi says quietly. “Of our first date.”

Furihata nods, like maybe he understands that it is very hard for Akashi not to conquer every weakness, and he steps in close in a comforting sort of way. “You know, on our first date we didn’t really go on any roller coasters. We just made out a lot behind the rides.”

Akashi follows this train of thought and smiles slowly. “Yes, that’s right. We never did make it to the roller coasters.”

“So, a really  _good_  anniversary celebration of our first date would just be a lot of making out, yeah?”

“Yes, Furi, what a wonderful suggestion, I completely agree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a string of "you asked for fluff and I gave you angst" prompts. Sorry! This one was for a date at MM land where Akashi gets sick on roller coaster, which isn't quite my headcanon for Akashi in this universe, so I came up with this instead.


	48. Kitten

“Onee-chan, can you help?”

Momoi stops walking at the sound of the small voice. There’s an even smaller child tugging at her shirt. “My kitten is in a tree.” Momoi looks to where the girl is pointing and yes. There is a kitten in that tree.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” she says, sympathetically. “Here, let me call the fire department for you—”

“Can’t you get him down?” The small child asks. “You’re a Miracle, right, Onee-chan?”

“Er,” Momoi says, smiling weakly. “I’m not really that kind of Miracle…”

In fact, the small child happened to stumble upon the one Miracle who really  _couldn’t_  do anything in this situation. Even the boys who didn’t have abilities that could directly help in this situation would at least have been able to climb the tree just fine—they’d been trained to do things like climb trees. (Murasakibara, she thinks, probably wouldn’t have even needed to climb. He could have just grabbed the kitten off the branch without even stretching very far.)

“Pleeeease,” the girl says, her lip starting to wobble in a very alarming way. “You’re like a superhero, right?”

“Oh, no, not, no—”

“I don’t know, Momoi,” Riko says slyly, “I think you better get the kitten down from that tree.”

Momoi glares at the other girl. It had been a pleasant shopping trip so far, but they were still on that border line between friends and rivals and their friendship wasn’t fully solidified yet. She smiles down at the small girl. “You know, I think this Onee-chan over here would be much,  _much_  better suited to help. After all, she doesn’t have as much to weigh her down on top~~”

“Oh for the—that has nothing to do with climbing!!” Riko says, blushing even when the little girl stares blankly at Momoi. Riko stops and then grins, “And besides, she wanted the  _Miracle_  to help her. This is clearly a  _Miracle_  problem.”

The thing is, Momoi can think of a dozen different ways to get that kitten down (with varying degrees of efficiency and well-being of said kitten) but all the available methods would be quite complicated and time consuming.

Well.  _Most_  of the methods, at any rate.

She tosses her hair and sighs, “Yes, you are right. You’re barely a B-cup, but you are quite correct, this is definitely not something ordinary humans should do. It’s not something girls should attempt to do anyway, I should call Dai-chan, he could get here quite fast—”

“Don’t be  _stupid_ —I can’t even—ugh.” In a frustrated fit of disgust, Riko rolls up her sleeves and confronts the tree head on. In a few a minutes of grunting and swearing (Momoi covers the ears of the small girl) Riko descends the tree holding the kitten that is currently clawing the heck out of her hands.

“Thanks, Onee-chan!” the girl says, reclaiming the kitten.

“Some superior designed human  _you_  are,” Riko grumbles.

“I was doing exactly what I was designed for,” Momoi smiles prettily, “Pink Twos were meant to  _delegate._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the Miracles to rescue a kitten through a tree using normal means, and I picked Momoi since I figured she's the only one who would have trouble. She learned a lot of bad habits from Michiru =D


	49. Sayuri

When Sayuri comes home with a sprained ankle, Aomine’s response had been, “Ha! That’s what you get for being clumsy, cow.”

Her response had been, “Go choke on a porno magazine, Daiki,” and it was all in all, a very standard thing.

*

He is not expecting Shigure’s reaction.

“It is time for you to get a new job.”

“I don’t need a new job, Dad.”

“You do need a new job, and you are going to get a new job, effective immediately.”

“It’s a sprained ankle and also I am a grown woman and you can’t actually tell me what to do.”

“Oh, yes, only a sprained ankle. I will be sure to hold my complaints for  _when it’s a body bag._ ”

“Fuck you,” Sayuri says, and storms out the door. Her storming is a little less effective because she is on crutches, but she slams the door very loudly.

Aomine is genuinely confused and doesn’t know what to do with this feeling. He has never known Shigure to react like this to anything—Shigure is one of the most mildmannered people he knows and rarely tells his children to do anything.

Family drama is also kind of new. He doesn’t like it.

*

“Look, could you at least  _consider_  getting a new job?” Imayoshi asks, after bringing his sister her lunch. Aomine has to stare at this, because in all the time he has lived here, Imayoshi has never once voluntarily brought his sister anything.

This seems to bother Sayuri just as much as it disturbs him. “Stop being nice to me, it’s weird. And no. I will not.”

“You’re upsetting Dad.”

“He is being stupid about this.”

“ _You’re_  being stupid about this.”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re on his side. You are a failure as a little brother. Daiki is my new favorite.”

“You’re still an ugly cow,” Aomine says.

“And you’re my precious adorable baby brother,” Sayuri says, “Come here so I can pinch your cheeks.”

“No.”

He eyes Imayoshi, who is silent through this, and frowning slightly. He’s never seen the former Touou captain like this either, and it’s starting to disturb him on a profound level.

*

“What’s the big deal?” he asks finally. “It’s just a sprained ankle. She tripped on a gopher hole and fell wrong. Everyone besides you guys have just been giving her crap about it because it’s hilarious.”

He doesn’t have a lot of heart-to-heart conversations with Imayoshi. This whole situation has clearly thrown him for a loop, because he can’t believe he’s having one with him now.

Imayoshi looks at him with one of his inscrutable faces. “My mom was in the SDF.”

“Er. Yeah?” Aomine says, because he’d known that, Sayuri had made a point of explaining this was a family tradition.

“She died on a mission.”

Aomine stands there, not saying anything, for a very long time. And then finally he says:

“Oh.”

*

“Stop staring, you’re freaking me out.”

He had been staring, and he acknowledges that it probably was disturbing. Sayuri was on the couch watching TV and he was watching her very intently.

He healed quickly. They all did, for the most part. Even Kuroko and Momoi healed faster than the average human. It was easy to forget that wasn’t normal.

“You know, you’d make a pretty good waitress,” he says earnestly.

“Oh for the—they got to you, too?!”

“Just sayin’. Or like, a scary librarian or something. Or a scary school teacher. Or a scary nurse—”

“Let me ask you something, Daiki, do you know of any jobs for women that didn’t feature as a costume in a gravure magazine?”

“You definitely couldn’t be a gravure model, you don’t have the boobs for it.”

“Ugh,” Sayuri says, grabbing her crutches and getting off the couch.

“Where are you going?” Aomine asks suspiciously.

“Next door. I’m moving in with Michiru-obaa-san until the rest of you get your heads out of your collective asses.”

“We can find you next door! Really easy!” Aomine calls after her. She makes a rude gesture with her hands, which is kind of impressive, considering she’s  still on crutches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was for injured Sayuri, which was so amazing!! Because it tied in nicely with some VERY PAINFUL headcanons I have that will appear in a future long story. =)


	50. Akashi and the Shirts

“And! And you will never believe what I found in his dresser! He has a yellow shirt declaring he is a Miracle boyfriend! Can you believe how _cute_ that is?? Senpai must love me _so much_ to have a shirt like that!”

Akashi is not entirely sure why he took this video call. Apparently he and Murasakibara were the only ones stupid enough to answer when Kise was calling. (He had been laboring under the fallacy that Kise would not try to group call them unless he had something very important to report. Akashi makes a note to himself not to make this mistake again. He is not sure why Murasakibara took the call, and in all honesty, is very surprised he has not hung up yet).

“Oh yeah, Murochin has a shirt like that,” Mursakibara drawls. “A purple one. He wears it all the time.”

There is a very pronounced pause, long enough for Akashi to reflect on the fact that throughout Kise’s exuberant bragging he had never actually said that Kasamatsu Yukio _wore_ the t-shirt.

“You know, Murasakibaracchi, sometimes I hate you,” Kise sulks.

Murasakibara does not actually respond, and it is very hard to read him. On any other person, Akashi would think Murasakibara had _also_ been bragging, and making a deliberate dig at Kise, but…surely not. ( _Surely_ …)

“Sometimes only the shirt,” Murasakibara says, still in that lazy, hard-to-read way.

“I _really_ hate you,” Kise says, and hangs up.

*

Akashi thinks this matter is worth pursuing. He debates calling Kuroko and instantly rejects the idea. Kuroko would not tell him if he asked. There is a chance Aomine would not qualify, so that just leaves Midorima.

With little preamble into this phone call, Akashi asks, “Does Takao possess a green shirt that says something about being a Miracle boyfriend?”

“That is none of your business!” Midorima sputters.

All of the sudden, Akashi regrets not making a video call for this, because he suspects the other man must be blushing and he finds that hilarious. “Oh, _really?_ ”

“I mean—it’s— _I am not having this conversation with you, Akashi._ ”

“I was only asking about a t-shirt, Midorima,” Akashi says. “Apparently Kasamatsu-san and Himuro-san both have one matching their respective boyfriends. I don’t see why that should be a source of embarrassment for you. Unless there is something embarrassing about the way Takao was wearing the shirt…”

There is a disgruntled silence and then, “…No. No reason at all. Yes, Takao has a green shirt. I believe he is responsible for making them for the others.”

“Is that so?” Akashi says, thinking about who else might own a shirt. He hangs up and decides this is something he needs to verify for himself as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the conversations where Akashi first learned about the shirts from Murasakibara, Kise and Midorima.


	51. Aomine and the Shirts

“Why the fuck is it hot pink? It doesn’t even match Satsuki,” Aomine says, looking at the shirt in his hands.

“Would you believe me if I said that was the only color the t-shirt company had available?” Takao asks innocently.

Aomine glowers at him. “No. I wouldn’t.”

“I think it would be a good look for you. You stud, you,” Takao says. And then he grins a particularly saucy grin and says, “I’ve always thought only real men could pull off hot pink. It’s a sexy look, man, drives all the ladies wild. Not to mention the gay men, I am super qualified to speak for the gays, and let me tell you, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you, I can barely restrain myself right now just picturing it—”

“Alright, alright, shut up, I get the picture, stop talking before Midorima kills me,” Aomine says, rolling his eyes. He takes the shirt and leaves.

Midorima had only been loosely within earshot and says, “Takao, were you flirting with Aomine?” He says this not in a jealous way, but in a perplexed, ‘the world has confused me and I very much would like things to make sense again’ sort of way.

“I could see where you might think that, but no, I was getting him to wear a hot pink shirt,” Takao smiles, “And I’m pretty sure I succeeded. Now Momoi owes me one.”

Midorima looks at Takao suspiciously, like a man who suspects that Takao’s friendship with Momoi is only going to lead to terrible things for him but he doesn’t quite know how yet.

*

Momoi comes home and has to actively keep herself from squealing with joy at the sight of her boyfriend in a hot pink t-shirt. (She does, however, make a mental note to send a very appreciative thank you to Takao).

“That’s a good look for you, Dai-chan,” she says with a grin.

“I’m not wearing it out in public,” Aomine says.

“We’ll see about that,” Momoi replies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was if Aomine ever got his pink shirt, and the answer is yes, yes he did =)


	52. Akashi and Orange

There are ways in which even success feels like failure.

Akashi had already learned that the opposite could be true. The loss at the Winter Cup had been hard to deal with in many ways, but Akashi is willing to admit now that perhaps the loss had been a necessary one. In some, hard to articulate way, he has this vague feeling that he gained more from that loss than he would have with another win, so it was hard to begrudge Seirin (and, more to the point, Kuroko) that victory.

But here, after the Special Diet, in the midst of celebration for what is clearly a victory for everyone here, Akashi feels distinctly like he’s lost something and he doesn’t know what to do with that.

*

_Orange’s kindness was not a weakness._ That’s what Kuroko had said, so long ago. _His way of living was better than ours. Humans will either fear us or love us. It is far better for them to love us._

These past weeks, it has been very clear what happens when humans fear them.

And now, now it is clear what happens if humans love them.

And Kuroko was right.

*

It had been difficult to see the entirety of Rakuzan here to support him. Most people might be touched but for him it was just uncomfortable. The room was full of humans who were there to support them, (there to support _him_ ) and it already felt too much like a betrayal of what he had always believed about humans.

And then there was Orange.

*

Orange was weak—that’s what he’d tried to tell Kuroko, over and over again. What they all had told Kuroko. Orange was weak and _that’s_ why he was dead. He loved humans and he died for it. And now here is Orange, with all the humans he loved and who clearly loved him, and they were saving the day, saving Akashi, saving everyone.

It was too much.

*

He remains distant for as long as he possibly can during the after party. He does not want to see Rakuzan, or his father, or the other Miracles, and he definitely doesn’t want to see Hinata Shouyou.

Everyone seems to understand this, and they leave him be.

*

It is only when the party starts to wind down and the end of the day is near that Akashi understands that he still has an obligation to fulfill and even if he was…wrong… about certain things, he is still the leader of his Generation. And Orange is a member of his Generation.

So finally, finally he walks over to Hinata Shouyou, who seems surprised and somewhat wary at the sight of him. (As he should be, really. Red let him die. Red chose not to protect him, help him, and Orange died. Only he wasn’t dead, and he helped them anyway).

“Thank you for what you did, Hinata-kun.”

It takes a lot out of him to say that.

Hinata nods, relaxing somewhat. “It’s fine. It was mostly everyone else, anyway. I didn’t know they were coming.”

Perhaps Hinata didn’t arrange it, but they’d rallied behind him. “I am not sure I would have done the same, had our situations been reversed.”

That’s not what he meant to say. It’s inaccurate anyway. He _couldn’t_ have done the same thing, had their situations been reversed. He might have tried to save Hinata but he couldn’t have done it the same way.

“Yeah, well,” Hinata looks down, “It wouldn’t have been right if I was the only one free. Again.”

It occurs to Akashi then that maybe Hinata has his own guilt, and that makes him feel slightly better about the whole situation.

“If you ever need help, we will support you,” Akashi promises. Because maybe they were both guilty, but he still owes Hinata a debt, and he intends to repay that.

“Guh, no thanks. I mean, no offense, but I really hope I don’t ever need _that_ kind of help, you know?”

“Fair enough,” Akashi says. “Then perhaps we will attend one of your volleyball games.”

“Right,” Hinata laughs. “Good one.” Then, he seems to get a little nervous. “You _are_ joking, right? Right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was what happened when Akashi approached Hinata after the Special Diet, and I figured Akashi had a lot of things he had to work through at that time.


	53. Blush

It is important to Midorima that Takao knows he is not ashamed of him. He doesn’t know the full specifics, but he understands that this was (in varying degrees) a factor into why Takao’s previous two relationships ended.

“Yamamoto is a good guy,” Takao explained once, “And it was probably unfair of me to break up with him. I just didn’t want to be someone else’s dirty little secret again, you know?”

Midorima still remembered the night Takao explained about how his middle school romance ended, and how furious he’d felt about that. He didn’t know how Takao could talk about it so easily now, how he didn’t seem to wish any of them harm, despite the fact that Midorima was all too happy to hurt them. It bothered Midorima a whole lot that anyone could do that to Takao, to the point where he _still_ wishes he could hurt everyone who had hurt his boyfriend.

But that’s not what Takao wanted. What Takao _wanted_ was to make sure it didn’t happen again, and Midorima will make sure it never happens again.

He’s just not sure if he’s doing it right.

*

They don’t tell their parents. First because Takao had said, “Oh God, Mom is going to gloat _forever_ if she finds out,” and Midorima had pictured having this conversation with Dr. Kishitani and it had all seemed far too embarrassing.

(Then it became clear that Dr. Kishitani was dating Takao’s mother, and all things considered, maybe it was best if they continued to _not_ tell their respective parental figures about their relationship).

And this is something they mutually agreed upon but it still makes Midorima wonder if Takao feels like Midorima is hiding his relationship from his guardian. He worries a lot about whether or not this is something that bothers Takao.

*

To compensate, they don’t hide it at school. Not that they do anything different at school than they ever did before they started dating (although, since everyone seemed to think they were dating before they started dating, maybe they didn’t need to do anything different), but if anyone asked, Midorima made sure to always respond truthfully that they were dating.

“You’re usually such a tsundere, Shin-chan,” Takao teases after the first time he hears Midorima declare, “Yes, Takao and I are involved romantically,” to someone’s question. “I can’t believe you just came out and said that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Midorima says, “I am always very open about my feelings.”

He’s not quite sure why Takao laughed at him.

*

They go everywhere together, with Takao often driving Midorima in his rickshaw, and that doesn’t feel like they’re hiding anything although Midorima is not entirely sure how much of a couple they look.

But it is important to him that Takao knows that Midorima would never hide him, would never make him his secret, so one day they’re out in the mall and Midorima decides, _To hell with it,_ and he kisses Takao right there where everyone can see.

He does not expect Takao to pull back, beet red, sputtering, “Shin-chan! Wh-what—?” and then eyes him suspiciously and says, “What’s your sign?”

“Pineapples!” Midorima says, indignantly, remembering their long ago code, “Exactly when would I have been switched out for Kise or a clone?”

“I don’t know but I’m not ruling anything out,” Takao says, still blushing. “What is with you?”

Midorima scowls because this is all incredibly unfair. “I just wanted you to know. That I’m not hiding you. Or anything.”

Takao buries his face in his hands and Midorima wonders if maybe he did something wrong but then Takao looks up and says, “OK, my boyfriend is adorable. Also, not hiding does not mean making out in public, we are Japanese, not Americans, come on, Shin-chan. Further also, we need to go home right now where I can make out with you properly and maybe take off your clothes.”

“Don’t be so shameless, Takao,” Midorima says, his turn to blush.

“Oh, you never get to accuse me of shamelessness ever again, stud,” Takao says, dragging him by his collar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was combining a few prompts to explain something I always wanted to clarify about Midorima and Takao's relationship, since I had set up Takao as someone who didn't want to hide his relationship but then they were hiding from their parents.


	54. Abe and Akashi

Between school and baseball practice, Abe and Mihashi don’t really have a lot of time to go on dates. Which is really OK since they spend about 70% of their time together anyway (the remaining 30% being when they are in their separate classes and their brief hours of sleep between training and classes). It didn’t even really occur to Abe that dates were things that _needed_ to happen until the other members of the baseball club started ragging on him for being a crappy boyfriend.

“Of course you have to go on dates! It’s called _dating_ isn’t it?” Sakaeguchi asks

“I bet Abe doesn’t know how,” Mizutani says.

“Shut up, we never have the time!” Abe insists. “Hanai, back me up here, do _you_ go on dates?”

“No, we, err—” Hanai starts.

“We make out a lot between classes and after practice, mostly in the locker rooms!” Tajima says cheerfully, slapping Hanai on the back.

Hanai turns red and then most of the team switches to ragging on him, leaving Abe to wonder if maybe he’s going about his relationship the wrong way.

*

So somewhere down the line, the double dates start to happen, and it’s really the only time they get the chance to actually _date_ , in the conventional sense of the word, with outings in public and food and various other couple related activities. And Abe considers this to be a win all around, because Mihashi likes seeing Furihata, and Akashi tends to pay for everything when they’re all together, and this way Abe doesn’t have to put too much thought into what exactly couples are supposed to do because Akashi had already made all the plans.

The downside to the double dates, is that sometimes Mihashi starts talking to Furihata and sometimes their talking takes up the majority of the date, to the point where sometimes Abe feels like they are on a double date, but Abe is not Mihashi’s date.

Which leaves some kind of disturbing implications about who _is_ Abe’s date.

*

Since they’re often thrown together when Mihashi and Furihata start talking, Abe ends up sitting awkwardly next to Akashi Seijuurou a lot. They don’t usually talk a whole lot, and that’s not terrible, Abe doesn’t mind the not talking and he doesn’t think Akashi does either.

Seeing Furihata and Mihashi together, he sometimes wonders if he’s doing things wrong. Because Mihashi doesn’t talk as easily and cheerfully with him, and it’s the unsettling sort of feeling he gets sometimes still when Mihashi talks to Tajima, or Sakaeguchi. It’s not _jealousy_ exactly, but the unshakeable feeling that he’s still not getting it right.

“Do you,” Abe starts, wondering if it’s a pointless question but feeling like maybe it needs to be asked, “Do you ever think that maybe Furihata would be better off with someone who understood him better?”

As soon as he asks the question he knows it’s dumb. Akashi doesn’t strike him as the kind of person who would be insecure about things like that. And really, he should have just said, _I sometimes think Mihashi would be better off with someone who understood him better_ , because that’s what he really meant.

But Akashi surprises him.

“Yes, all the time.”

Abe has to stare at him disbelievingly for about ten seconds because he said that which such declarative confidence that it makes it really hard to believe him.

“I am not human,” Akashi clarifies, “I did not have a normal childhood. I have often thought many times that Furihata might be better off with someone who relates to him better than it is possible for me to ever understand. But in the end, I am confident that I want what is absolutely the best for Furihata, and that no one could ever want that as much as I do, so in the end that means I am best for Furihata.”

Abe thinks through this logic and then nods. Yes, that’s it. He doesn’t always understand Mihashi, but no one could possibly think more about Mihashi’s well-being than he does, so that’s fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a couple requests for more Abe and Akashi interactions =)


	55. Coming, Going

The best times are when Kise is not expecting Kasamatsu to visit. Because then it’s a delight he didn’t know he was going to experience that day, and that’s always the best kind of joy.

The planned visits are good too because it gives him something to look forward to, but those have their own drawbacks. If he can count down the days, the hours, the seconds, it’s a way of keeping sane (unless the visits are _too_ far apart, like when Kasamatsu has exams. Then the numbers just mock him and everything is horrible). If he can say, just five more days, just four more, just hang in there—then the bad days are not so bad because it’s just a matter of surviving until relief.

But if Kasamatsu is late—or worse, if _something comes up_ and he has to cancel (something that happened once before, because his brother got sick, and Kise hated that unknown boy so much for taking away Kasamatsu’s attention—he’d never experienced such agonizing jealousy until that day) then it was _so much worse_ than not expecting him to come at all. So there’s that draw back.

The surprise visits have their own disadvantages because he hasn’t prepared for them. If Kasamatsu suddenly walks into the room and Kise is busy watching a soap opera with Momoi, then Kasamatsu says he should continue watching the soap opera with Momoi and that he doesn’t mind joining them on the couch and that isn’t what Kise wants _at all._

(“You’re being so greedy, Kichan!” Momoi had hissed at him once. “I’m not trying to steal Kasa-senpai from you! I just want a friend!”

“You have your internet friends, leave mine alone!” Kise wailed. He got _so little_ time with Kasamatsu, and he wants it all to himself, and he hates Momoi and Kuroko and occasionally even _Midorima_ for trying to take some of that time. At least Murasakibara, Aomine and Akashi leave well enough alone).

“I’m glad you came, Senpai,” Kise says when he gets the chance, because he wants Kasamatsu to know how much it means to him but he’s terrified of scaring him off. “You’ll still come next week, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Kasamatsu says, and Kise wonders if he’s just agreeing to it or if he wants to or if he—

“Are—are _you_ glad you came?”

“Yeah, I had fun,” Kasamatsu says. And he ruffles Kise’s hair like he might a younger brother (which is simultaneously frustrating and thrilling—he likes any contact with Kasamatsu but he really doesn’t want to be treated as a younger brother). “I like hanging out with you, even when you’re being a brat.”

“Senpai, I am always on my best behavior,” Kise pouts.

Kasamatsu just looks faintly amused when he says, “Yeah, I actually believe that. See you next week.”

And that’s the absolute worst part—watching Kasamatsu leave. It’s depressing because this moment marks the furthest time away from the next time he gets to see Kasamatsu, but it also always makes him wonder what Kasamatsu is thinking when he walks away.

Does he miss Kise, when he’s not around? Does he think about Kise at all? Or is this just an obligation, a box to check off as he moves on to the next responsibility.

“You know,” Youji says, “If you didn’t live on base you could probably see him more often. If you went to a high school, for example.”

“What would I do in a high school?” Kise demands, because that suggestion is just ridiculous.

Youji just shrugs. “Yukio plays basketball.”

It’s an absurd thing to think about, but maybe it’s the only possible solution, so that moments like this when he has to watch Kasamatsu walk away from him and not look back won’t exist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was Kise's thoughts when Kasamatsu visited him at the JSDF and when he had to leave.


	56. Nigou

Truthfully, Kuroko didn’t particularly have a fondness for dogs. Animals in general tended to fall under that category of “things we don’t particularly understand” for most of the Miracles, during their time at the JSDF base. Kuroko read about pets, and he knew the principle behind having them (companionship, loyalty, unconditional love) but it was not something that had appealed to him at first. For one thing, he instinctively balked at the idea of owning another living creature. The idea of leashes and cages and having something entirely dependent upon you for food and shelter reminded him a little too much about his relationship with the scientists at Teiko.

So all things considered, he didn’t want to have a pet.

*

And at any rate, dogs were dangerous things on missions. Because it was not uncommon for some of the places they had to break into to have guard dogs—big, mean creatures with sharp teeth that were designed to attack intruders. None of the Miracles liked it when dogs were a factor in a mission, because their abilities didn’t work on animals. There were a few times when a barking dog almost exposed their presence—Black, unable to misdirect their attention away—and sometimes remembering those close calls still causes a spike of anxiety in Kuroko.

*

Those memories never came with Nigou, though. Nigou, who was a small, abandoned puppy, left at the side of the road by someone who refused to give him a home. Kuroko saw himself in that puppy before anyone else ever did; he too had been deemed not worth keeping.

*

He doesn’t want to claim ownership of Nigou, but there are things that he likes about having the dog around.

He likes that Kagami is scared of the puppy.

He likes that Seirin saw the puppy and thought, “He looks like you!” It was the first sign that Kuroko Tetsuya was someone Seirin thought about, someone his team remembered.

He likes that his team makes Nigou a uniform and universally adopts him as their mascot. It’s what he loves the most about Seirin: each and every person on this team is the kind of person who would welcome in an abandoned puppy and give him a home.

*

There are so many ways Kuroko falls in love with Kagami: it happens over and over and over again. But he’ll always remember walking in the locker room and seeing Kagami gingerly, carefully, like he’s handling a bomb, dressing Nigou in his tiny uniform. It’s just one of those moments when he thinks, _I love this man_.

Kagami, Seirin, Nigou. It’s like Kuroko had been abandoned for a very long time and finally been found.


	57. Sawamura Daichi and the Miracle

Sawamura Daichi has, all things considered, lived a fairly normal life. Even finding out that one of his teammates was a superpowered mutant designed in a lab hasn’t actually changed the fact that Daichi’s life is all fairly standard. After all, remarkably little changed about Hinata, even knowing his unusual origins, so very little changed in Karasuno.

The only thing is, now Hinata’s old companions occasionally visit him. And they’re all a lot more unusual than Hinata.

*

Kuroko Tetsuya had been easy enough to deal with—he was a lot quieter than Hinata and easy to forget so that hadn’t been too unusual. Midorima Shintarou is somewhat a different thing altogether. He came to their practice holding a giraffe puppet; he was over two meters tall and he had green hair and he had strange speaking patterns and even without the knowledge that he was a superpowered mutant designed in a lab he was incredibly _weird._

“It’s kinda hilarious to see him standing next to Hinata,” Suga says, sounding fond.

“Not as funny as it was seeing that purple guy—do you remember him? He was huuuuuge,” Tanaka laughs at the memory.

“Get back to practice, both of you,” Daichi says, because he needs to focus on the important things, and not the fact that there is a stranger here and he’s the strangest person Daichi has ever met.

*

Midorima isn’t human, and that’s not something he ever quite lets you forget. He refuses to join their volleyball practice, but when a stray ball goes flying he moves with a dangerous efficiency that’s so fast it’s hard to notice.

He has a friend who comes with him and who is all too human. Takao Kazunari instantly makes friends with everyone and drags Kageyama off somewhere.

Daichi keeps an eye on Midorima in the same way he might watch a bear that ambled into their gym to stand at the sidelines and watch them play.

*

“I am sorry that we left you to die.”

The apology comes out stiff but very pronounced; it takes awhile for the whole message to catch up with Daichi’s brain because it was said as casually as if merely saying, “I’m sorry I cheated off your exam.”

He freezes at the volleyball bin, and he knows he wasn’t supposed to overhear that, but it doesn’t really stop him from listening in.

Hinata doesn’t answer right away, and when he does, he doesn’t even sound like Hinata. “You did. You all just watched. You—” Hinata stops, and it’s a struggle Daichi has never seen in him before, and it occurs to him that he doesn’t know who this boy is. “We were a team but you just _watched them kill me._ ”

“I didn’t want it to be me,” the other Miracle says. “You—I am surprised you still came for us at the Special Diet.”

“I came for Black,” Hinata says. But that’s not what Hinata had said at the time—he’d said that they were in Teiko for three more years after he escaped, and he’d felt guilty that he hadn’t spared them that. And Daichi thinks—he _thinks_ —Hinata would have saved the others, even if his friend hadn’t be there. Because that’s the kind of person Hinata is.

“You and Black—you and Kuroko, you were always good people. It was very hard for me to be a good person then. I am only just learning how to be a good person now. I wouldn’t have—had our situations been reversed, I would not have saved you. But—if you ever need me _now_ —”

“That’s what Akashi said,” Hinata laughs, finally sounding like Hinata again, “Man, you guys. No offense, but I really hope that’s never the case, OK? Let’s just—let’s just be _friends_.”

Hinata, Daichi recalls hearing from Yachi once, makes a distinction between friends and teammates. Yachi got the impression that maybe teammates were a more important category for Hinata. And maybe, Daichi thinks, maybe Hinata could be friends with this person, but he would never be teammates again.

“Alright,” Midorima says shortly, and Daichi thinks maybe he understands. “That might be…nice.”

*

“It was nice of you to come visit Hinata,” Daichi says before Midorima and Takao depart. “Feel free to visit anytime.”

Midorima looks at him (and it is very annoying to have a First Year look _down_ at him) and says, “Thank you.”

Daichi watches them leave. Midorima and Hinata were very different—they couldn’t be more different if they were trying. But, he reflects, in a strange way, because he knows Hinata, he feels like he knows Midorima, and he’s inclined to like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There were a couple requests that I was combining here revolving around the idea of Karasuno interacting with one of the Miracles.


	58. Girl Talk

“What was all that about?” Momoi asks just as Riko settles into the table with the menu in hand.

“What was what about?” Riko says, a little too quickly.

“Oh, you know what,” Momoi says, putting her own menu down to eye Riko. “Your captain just tried to ask you out and you pretty much punched him in the back and ran.”

“I had to go meet you! And anyway, I just slapped his back! Friendly like,” Riko says, but she looks guilty, and she just sighs and says, “He’s been trying to ask me out since the last Winter Cup, and I don’t want him to.”

“Well, that’s rude,” Momoi says, pouting. She’s actually a little disappointed in Riko, she thought better of her. “If you don’t want to date him, then you should at least give him the courtesy of rejecting him, and not—”

“That’s not—I don’t—”

At Riko’s blush, Momoi pounces, almost predatory-like. “Oh, you _do_ want to date him. You _like_ him.”

“It’s _complicated,_ ” Riko says. “And anyway, it would just be distracting, so—”

“Don’t give me that,” Momoi waves this aside, “I’m dating a player on the team and I have a very hard time believing you wouldn’t be able to prioritize.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Riko says.

“Do you see where we are right now?” Momoi demands. “We’re at a cafe. We are two girls, at a cafe, and by god, we should be able to talk about our love lives.”

Up until now, they’re meetings had been short and kind of awkward and they mostly talked about basketball. Momoi isn’t even sure why Riko still agrees to come out with her, since their friendship has not progressed the way that she would like. But this is the first time something properly _girly_ has come up—the stereotypical kind of girl talk Momoi has only ever seen on TV and she is will be damned if she lets this opportunity pass her by!

“Well, why do we have to talk about _my_ love life?” Riko grumbles, “You should talk about _your_ love life.”

“I am dating the person I was genetically designed to mate with since birth, trust me, my love life is not exciting,” Momoi says. Riko blinks, not sure what to do with that. “So you like Hyuuga-san! That’s great, you two would be cute together, why not just go out with him?”

Riko squirms. “There’s someone else.”

“You’re dating someone?” Momoi persists.

“Nooo, not—”

“You _want_ to be dating someone. Oh! You like two people at the same time.”

“Holy crap, how’d you do that?” Riko demands, looking genuinely surprised and impressed.

“Women’s intuition,” Momoi says serenely. “It’s your Center, right? Kiyoshi-san?”

“Are you reading my mind?” Riko asks suspiciously.

“That is not one of my talents, it just makes the most logical sense,” Momoi says. “Anyway, that’s great! Go date both of them.”

“Momoi,” Riko says, exasperated. “If you’re not going to take this seriously—”

“What? I am being serious,” Momoi says, frowning, “Go ask them both out. See if they’d be willing for all three of you to date each other.”

“That—what? That’s not even—are you crazy? That’s not an option!”

“Oh my god,” Momoi says. “Of course it’s an option! You mean that didn’t even occur to you?”

“Of course not!” Riko says, sounding scandalized.

“You want to date them both, right?”

“I like them both, yes, and I don’t know—the solution is not to _date both of them._ ”

“Yes! Yes it is! Do you know how many great literary love triangles could have been solved with polyamory? _All of them._ ” Momoi feels like shaking the girl. Some people had no idea how lucky they had it! “If you’re up for it, then the only thing is to see if the boys are up for it, and I’ll bet you _anything_ they would be.” She pull out her iPad and starts tapping away, already researching the matter.

“I could weirdly see Teppei amenable,” Riko says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and looking away. “But Hyuuga never would, and—and anyway, I don’t even—”

“Nope, that boy _definitely_ has a bi-curious browsing history,” Momoi says, looking at her iPad. “I think he’d be on board.”

“What? Really? What are you—are you hacking his computer right now? How?” She cranes her neck to look at the iPad, which Momoi pulls away.

“Ah ah, you don’t get to see what Hyuuga-san looks up on the internet in his spare time unless you agree to consider the possibility of threesomes.”

“That isn’t—why do you even care?” Riko sputters, still blushing.

“If I can’t have a threesome, someone should, and I might as well live vicariously through you,” Momoi says, quite seriously. “Don’t worry, I will walk you through this, I will be your dating senpai, I—”

“You don’t have experience in this either!” Riko says. “And I’m older than you!”

“But I am ever so much, much more worldly than you,” Momoi says confidently. And she is absolutely determined to help Riko with this, whether or not the girl actually wants her help.

After all, that’s what friends are for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the follow up to the "Girl Friends" short that I wanted to write after I finished posting "Your Heart Ain't Cold." I wanted Momoi and Riko to have a proper chat =D


	59. Frustration

There’s a lot of things Hinata has to get used to now that everyone knows he’s a genetically designed superhuman who was created in a lab.

Namely, the way that everyone keeps bringing that up.

*

“So, like, _were_ you an assassin?” one of his classmates asked, only to be instantly punched in the arm by a girl.

“He isn’t! Didn’t you watch the Special Diet?”

“Yeah, buuuut.”

“I never killed anyone,” Hinata says, because it’s _technically_ true. Technically.

“But you could, right?” someone says.

“No more easier than _you_ could,” Hinata says, which is… less true.

“So can you fly like Superman?”

“No,” Hinata says. And he has to hold onto his desk to keep himself from—running away, lashing out, _something._ “Anyway, it’s not as cool as volleyball.”

“Ha ha, not like you’d know, ball boy.”

“I’m a starter! I play in games!”

*

“Idiot! I told you not to throw that out here!” Daichi yells at Tanaka.

“Sorry, sorry,” Tanaka says, chagrined and looking at the roof, where the volleyball is. “Oh, hey, Hinata! Hinata can go get it!”

“ _You_ go get it!” Hinata says indignantly. “I didn’t lose it, I don’t want to climb up there!”

“You can fly, can’t you?” Tanaka says, confused.

“Oh, yeah,” Hinata says. He flinches, slightly, because he’s spent so long pretending he couldn’t that it’s still weird that people _know_ ; when they bring it up, when they tell him he should do it…

“You lost the ball, Ryu, so you go get it,” Daichi says. “That’s a rule from now on.” And Hinata feels absurdly grateful.

*

“How much weight can you carry? When you’re jumping?” Yamaguchi asks.

Hinata is about to say, “Not very much,” but Tsukishima speaks first: “Not much, I imagine. You’ve _seen_ him trying to carry chairs, right?”

Yamaguchi and _Kageyama_ (Hinata’s own boyfriend!!) both snicker and Hinata sputters and says, “Hey, I’m strong!”

“Yachi-san can carry more chairs than you,” Tsukishima says.

“That’s not true!” Hinata says indignantly, because that is just a blatant lie!

“You _are_ the smallest of the genetically designed superhumans,” Yamaguchi says.

“I’m aerodynamic!” Hinata says hotly.

“Not very, though,” Tsukishima says. “You can only jump.”

“It’s OK,” Kageyama says, patting Hinata on the head, “We know how weak you are. It’s cute.”

“Cute? _Cute?_ ” Hinata sputters, and that is _it_. He glows orange and throws himself up at Kageyama, lifting as he does.

And…admittedly it _is_ a struggle. But he manages to lift Kageyama up the distance and land on the roof of the gym, collapsing to the ground and on top of Kageyama as he does so.

“Ouch, dumbass,” Kageyama says.

“I’ll show _you_ cute,” Hinata says, grinning. Then he presses a quick lip against Kageyama’s lips and glows orange again, returning to the ground and leaving a sputtering Kageyama on the roof.

“Oi! Dumbass! Come back!!”

Hinata eyes Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, to see if they want to go next. Clearly, they don’t (although Tsukishima does seem to enjoy laughing at the still shouting Kageyama).

“Hinata!” Daichi roars. “You know the rules! If you put it on the roof you have to get it back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The question was whether Hinata ever gets frustrated with other people, and I figure probably not too often, and he'd usually only take it out on Kageyama if he did =P


	60. Himuro Ryuichiro

This trip back to America has brought out a whole bunch of revelations that Himuro doesn’t fully know how to process yet. It was one thing to readily accept that his old friend Nijimura Shuuzou had secretly been a genetically designed superhuman all along, it is another thing entirely to learn that Himuro’s _own father_ was involved with a different organization that dealt with genetically altered human beings.

But at least Murasakibara was here with him, and he seems to be scaring the crap out of Himuro’s father, so.

At least there’s that.

*

It had been sheer perversity for Himuro to say, “Atsushi, would you like to visit America with me? You can meet my father.” And in all honesty, he rather expected Murasakibara to decline the offer. He was already wondering if he felt like trying to convince Murasakibara to come with him or if he should leave it well enough alone, but Murasakibara had surprised him by saying, “Sure, Murochin” without any kind of coaxing needed.

Providence had been a surprise to both of them.

*

Now, Himuro is doing something he never thought he would be in the position to do: introducing his boyfriend to his father.

Himuro Ryuichiro is an expressive man—his lips tighten at the sight of Murasakibara, he stands very stiffly, he occasionally flinches slightly if Murasakibara stands too close. This is a combination of things, Himuro figures: the fact that Murasakibara is dating his son, the fact that Murasakibara is a mutant, the fact that Murasakibara is over two meters tall and could crush anyone in his path.

At first, Himuro takes a great deal of joy in the fact that his father seemed scared of Murasakibara, but gradually it just makes him sad, and then sort of bitterly complacent. If Ryuichiro can’t approve of Murasakibara, then at least he knows not to pick fights with him. It’s a small consolation, but Himuro finds slight solace in it nonetheless.

*

“Is Murochin OK?”

“I’m fine, Atsushi,” Himuro says.

“Hmm. I could crush him, you know. Pretty easy. He’s tiny.”

Himuro smiles, and buries his face in Murasakibara’s shoulder. “Yes, Atsushi, thank you. It is very reassuring to know.”

*

“There are _human_ men you could date, Tatsuya,” Ryuichiro says, his voice cool.

“Of course there are, but I don’t find them nearly as interesting,” Himuro replies blithely.

“Does he even have any kind of future planned?” Ryuichiro returns. “Does he have college or career in mind? Or is he just going to live off the _celebrity_ of being a mutant?”

“I—” Himuro frowns, “Wait, are you criticizing him for being lazy?”

“I just don’t think you should invest in a relationship if he’s not going to be serious,” Ryuichiro says.

Himuro isn’t entirely sure what to say with that. His father has never talked about any of the men Himuro—well, dated is probably the wrong word. But still. His father mostly just pretended they didn’t exist. He didn’t have _opinions_ about them.

“I have every faith he could be a professional basketball player,” Himuro ventures, just to see what would happen.

“Athleticism is a hobby, not a career, and I have told you that many times,” Ryuichiro says sharply. “Tatsuya, you know I just want what’s best for you.”

It’s just that Ryuichiro seems to think “what’s best” for him is a wife and two children in the suburbs. Himuro doesn’t say anything, and he’s sure nothing shows on his face, but Ryuichiro sighs anyway.

“If you are serious about this young man, then he better have a stable job. I will not tolerate you shackling yourself to dead weight.”

“No worries at all, father. I fully plan on him making lots of money and mooching off of him for the rest of my life. I’m pretty enough to be a trophy husband.”

Ryuichiro huffs and drops the subject, and Himuro wonders if he missed an opportunity.

*

Murasakibara leans on his back, so that his long arms drape over Himuro’s shoulders and Himuro ends up slouching a bit.

“I could still crush him,” Murasakibara ventures.

“I actually think we’re making progress,” Himuro says thoughtfully. “But thank you, Atsushi. That’s a solid backup plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, if you haven't read "Your Heart Ain't Cold ('Cuz It Burns)" this won't make much sense. But it was revealed that Himuro's father has corporate relations with the organization Nijimura works for and this was a follow-up to their meeting in that story.


	61. Music - Akashi

Music was one of those _outside_ things that the Miracles never encountered except on missions, and usually they were too absorbed with the task at hand to pay attention to the silly frivolities of humans. Yellow had even Copied a very popular popstar once to get close to a mark; he’d listened to the songs in order to prepare for the mission, but he hadn’t really _listened_ to them, in that way that humans did.

The first time Kise Ryouta—young, up and coming teen idol—was invited to a concert it was a different kind of experience than when he’d pretended to be a star himself.

Music, he thought then, must be one of those things that makes a human different than someone made in Teiko. Not frivolous at all, but something maybe he could only Copy, and never create.

*

The first time he hears the violin playing on the JSDF base he doesn’t think much about it. He only listens to it with the same kind of idle attention he would give any kind of music. It’s different than the CDs Momoi listens to—which tend to be pop songs; things with a lot of beat and pep. He’s also heard some heavy metal because it’s popular with some of the younger soldiers. Youji liked listening to jazz and some songs from the 80’s. So far, Kise pretty much liked listening to everything. Everything was a new kind of experience.

The violin is new and very different. He hasn’t listened to a lot of instruments before. It’s classy, and somehow it also makes him feel sad in a way the other music has not.

It takes him awhile to realize that the violin sounds different because it is not filtered electronically—this isn’t a CD or the radio, someone must actually be _playing_ inside the base. By the time Kise has this realization and he moves to track down the sound, it has already stopped, and Kise feels like he lost an opportunity.

*

The next time he hears the violin playing he starts tracking it down right away—

And he is very surprised to discover who is playing.

“Akashicchi?” He feels like there are levels to the sheer amount of incredulity and disbelief he has managed to convey with just one word, but Akashi just lowers the violin and gives Kise an imperious stare.

“Yes, Ryouta?”

“You—” he doesn’t know how to finish the statement. Playing an instrument is not something _any_ of them do. Music, Kise figures, being one of those very _human_ things that is not suited for them at all. But he doesn’t know how to say that to _Akashi_ , who out of all of them, is the _least_ likely to experiment with any sort of human activity. “What are you doing?” he says finally.

“I am playing the violin,” Akashi returns easily.

“…Right…”

Kise is still at a loss for words, but Akashi finally supplies, “It is very important that we are superior in all areas, Ryouta.”

“Right,” Kise says again, because at least that’s something he understands, that certainly sounds like a very Akashi thing to say or do.

He walks away mulling this over. It _is_ a very Akashi thing to say or do, but Kise can’t help but wonder if it’s true. He feels a bit shaken from the encounter, perhaps because he thought maybe the Miracles—that people made in labs and trained as assassins—were not capable of creating beautiful things.

He does not quite know what to do with the information that maybe they _can._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for the Miracles to find out about Akashi playing the violin, which prompted a couple other shorts about Miracles and music, that will be posted here soon =D


	62. Music - Kise

After he moved into the Kasamatsu household, Kise began to make all kinds of discoveries about Kasamatsu Yukio that he would have never known otherwise (thus solidifying his sense that this move was the _right_ one to make).

For example, he knew Kasamatsu enjoyed music, and even knew the older boy played the guitar as a hobby, but he _hadn’t_ known that Kasamatsu is actually a _very good_ guitar player.

And he hadn’t known that Kasamatsu sometimes likes to sing while he’s playing.

*

The thing is, Kise has to try very hard not to make a big deal about this. If Kasamatsu knew how fascinated Kise is by his playing, he might not do it. Kise has learned that Kasamatsu is rather shy about the fact that he plays the guitar. And he definitely doesn’t like it when other people are around when he sings.

The first few times, Kise overheard him when he was out of their room; in a rare glimpse that was like a lightning-strike, he never knew when it would happen next. But gradually Kasamatsu has come to accept Kise as a presence in their shared room, and sometimes he will play without acknowledging Kise’s presence at all. (Kise lies very still the entire time, on the idea that if he doesn’t draw attention to himself, then Kasamatsu will keep playing. It’s little things like this that Kise has learned the value of from Kuroko).

*

When he feels more confident that Kasamatsu won’t abruptly stop playing, Kise finally has the courage to venture, “You’re really very good at that, Senpai.”

“I don’t need to hear that from _you,_ ” Kasamatsu says, rolling his eyes. “It just sounds condescending.”

“What do you mean?” Kise says, and he pouts about it in his usual way to mask the fact that he’s genuinely stung by the comment.

Despite his attempt at masking the hurt, Kasamatsu looks at him questioningly, like maybe he senses something is wrong anyway. “ _You’re_ amazing,” Kasamatsu clarifies. “I’ve heard you at karaoke, you match the singers perfectly.”

“I Copy the singers,” Kise says, and he feels a little incredulous that he even has to have this conversation with Kasamatsu, who should know better than anyone that there’s a difference. “With my Latent Overflow.” He smiles wryly. “It’s not like I could actually _create_ anything. I’m only ever just a Copy.”

That was far too much of the truth, and Kasamatsu looks at him sharply. “You’re not. _Copying_ just means you’re finding your own style, that doesn’t make it any less real. You’re incredibly talented, Kise.”

Kise has to glance down, because otherwise his emotions will show and he doesn’t want Kasamatsu to see how happy that made him, not yet. When he’s composed himself he manages to smile again when he looks back up and says, “Oh, well, yes, I _am_ amazing, which is how I know you’re a very good musician, Senpai, and you really should play in front of a wider audience—”

“Stop, stop flattering me, it’s still weird,” Kasamatsu says, and the tips of his ears are red, and Kise thinks maybe Kasamatsu just doesn’t know how to handle praise.

All in all, maybe it’s best if Kasamatsu _doesn’t_ play in front of a wider audience. Kise rather likes being his only fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for Kise to hear Kasamatsu singing =)


	63. The Izuki Household

“So, like, do you have a boyfriend now?”

Izuki eyes his younger sister. All things considered, her question is not completely off track, but he’s not entirely sure how _she_ could know that. “What brought you to that conclusion?”

“He had dinner at our house,” Mai says.

“Hyuuga has dinner at our house all the time,” Izuki says. “And I told you, Hayama missed his train—”

“Yeah, yeah, and the next train wouldn’t be for awhile, I heard you,” Mai says, rolling her eyes. “But, like, he laughed at all our jokes.”

“Our jokes are funny,” Izuki defends.

“Our jokes are _hilarious,_ ” Mai says, “But you have to admit, most people who are not in this family don’t tend to agree with that.”

Izuki nods because yes, this is a sad but true statement regarding their jokes.

“Also, why are you even playing with someone from a different school anyway?” Mai says. “Wouldn’t it get weird for tournaments?”

“I’d only ever play him in nationals, so, not really?”

“Nationals? He doesn’t go to a Tokyo school?”

“No,” Izuki says, but then he grimaces because maybe he _had_ been neglecting to actually mention… “He goes to Rakuzan.”

“ _Rakuzan?_ ” Mai yelps. “In _Kyoto?_ And he was visiting you _here?_ ”

“It’s not that—weird,” Izuki says, realizing that it probably is.

*

“Oh my God!” Mai says, bursting into his room the next day. “Do you know who he _is?_ ”

“Who?” Izuki frowns.

“Your boyfriend! Hayama Kotarou! He’s a _super genius basketball player._ ”

“Uh, yeah, I did know that. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“He has appeared in _magazines,_ ” Mai says. “He’s being professionally scouted! His family is super rich!”

“They are?” Izuki says.

“He goes to _Rakuzan_ , of course they are! You don’t just have a boyfriend, you have a boyfriend who is way out of your league!”

“Hey!”

“Don’t get me wrong, Nii-san, I wholeheartedly approve. You found a rich, successful man who laughs at our jokes. For the love of God, _marry_ him.”

“Get out of my room,” Izuki says.

“Fine, I have to go tell mom and Nee-san about your knight in shining _amour_.”

Izuki pauses, laughs, and then nods, “Yes, that was a good one, but he’s not my boyfriend so cut it out.”

“Are you kidding me? There are millions of unexplored romantic themed puns this family has yet to be able to utilize, we’re not letting this one go any time soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for more Hayama and Izuki interactions, but for various reasons, it seemed more fun to focus on Izuki and one of his sisters (who I was pleased to find out canonically have names!)


	64. Nobuko and Ryohei

After a singularly disastrous marriage that was psychologically damaging to both her and her children, Takao Nobuko figures that all things considered, romance is not something she really needs out of life anymore. But that if romance _were_ to be an issue, then she would be smart about it. (Way smarter than she had been before). That’s why she has rules.

Primarily: 1) No more assholes. But since there’s not always an easy way to tell if someone is an asshole, there has to be other restrictions, so it basically boils down to 2) No more complications. Things always seemed to be complicated with her ex-husband. And while _love isn’t easy_ is a common catchphrase, Nobuko can’t help but wonder, _well, why can’t it be?_ Loving her children is easy. Loving her friends and loving her parents and her siblings are all easy. Why should loving a man be any different?

With that in mind, it was easier to come up with a list of traits to avoid in order to ensure that her next great romance isn’t stressful. 3) No co-workers, 4) no doctors, 5) no spineless cowards and most importantly 6) no one who refuses to be around her children.

(There are positive things she is looking for too: kindness, intelligence, a sense of humor, good with kids. But making sure her significant other has the right traits isn’t as important to her as making sure he doesn’t have the wrong ones.)

*

For all of these reasons, Kishitani Ryohei wasn’t even on her radar as a potential love interest, even if a few of the other nurses liked to giggle about him. He was a co-worker and a doctor and a strange combination of very serious and also rather timid. When someone asked him why he was a military doctor he had replied, “So I never have to work with kids” and that seemed like items 3 through 6 right there.

*

He is also, however, the father of a girl who becomes her daughter’s best friend. And gradually she learns he does not hate children, rather, it’s the opposite—he cares too much about them to ever see them hurt.

She learns a lot of things about him.

Like the fact that he lets people bully him except when their health is on the line. Then he is very firm with his patients and his friends. She’s seen him stand resolute in the face of a bleeding, snarling lieutenant who was swearing profusely at him all while calmly stitched the man back together. She has seen him refuse to budge on what is morally and ethically correct, even under intense pressure.

And she’s seen him cry over the scars of children, when so many other men simply saw threats.

*

When the Miracles are brought to the base it rapidly becomes clear that they are dangerous, even if the children are trying hard not to appear to be so. So much so that Nobuko wonders if _children_ is even the right word, when they have that hardened look of soldiers in their eyes.

A lot of the soldiers tense when the kids are around. Not many people notice, but Nobuko does. She notices things like that. Some even rest their hands on their weapons, and even Nobuko isn’t entirely sure if it was a good idea to bring them here.

But she walks in on Kishitani crying over their files, and it’s impossible to pretend she didn’t see anything. “Sensei?”

He sniffs. “I should have known. Sergeant Kasamatsu caught me earlier. I just can’t seem to stop.”

“Crying?” she blurts out, even though it’s obvious.

He nods glumly. “I thought I was over it, but then I saw the files again, and I’m not.”

Nobuko had been one of the nurses on hand who had done preliminary exams of the kids, she knows what’s in those files. She’d seen it all before working the emergency room before she got a job with the military, so it hadn’t occurred to her to cry. It’s… _nice_ that he can still cry about these sorts of things. Most medical professionals can’t.

“You aren’t scared of them, sensei?” she asks. No one has said _these kids are killers._ Not out loud, anyway. Mostly in hushed whispers that everyone is trying very hard not to acknowledge. But these children have the scars of soldiers and they can do impossible things and it’s not hard to come to conclusions about what kind of life they led.

Ryohei looks up at her, his face hard, as grief is replaced by something more determined. “I think these are abused children who ran away from their abusers. And that’s the only thing I care about.”

That’s the exact moment Nobuko comes to understand Kishitani Ryohei, and the first time she begins to think, _not a coward, not an asshole, but a kind, brave man who loves children._

_Maybe doctor and co-worker isn’t that big of a problem._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for interactions between some of the other guardians, like these two, and I was very happy to write this short! Here's hoping it doesn't lead to another gigantic project like the last time I created backstory between two guardians...


	65. Pickpocket

“ _Your friend,”_ Shiori puts a particular emphasis on those two words, to indicate that she holds Youji particularly responsible for Masaomi’s existence, “Just broke three chairs, a table, a window, and ruined that poor woman’s nice dress. Not to mention her evening.”

Youji grimaces, although he thinks it very unfair of Shiori to blame this on him, when he told her that bringing Masaomi to a science debate would be a bad idea. “He just has very strong opinions, OK?”

Shiori continues to look at him reproachfully, as if it his fault that Masaomi felt the need to be dramatic with his emotions.

“I will go pay for everything,” Youji says defensively, “That was always my plan.” He takes out a credit card from his wallet and moves towards the very irate business owner.

“You do not have to do that,” Shiori says pointedly. “Mr. You-Are-All-Morons over there, who is busy swearing up and down that this place and everyone inside it does not deserve to share the basic oxygen it requires to take up space, is the one who should be paying for the general havoc he has caused. _You_ should not have to pay for this destruction.”

“Oh, I’m not,” Youji says, waving a credit card, “This is Masa-chan’s, he’ll pay for it.”

Shiori frowns. “He gave you one of his credit cards?”

“I _have_ one of his credit cards,” Youji says, and Shiori lifts a brow to indicate that she is aware those two statements are not the same thing.

“He seems fairly adamantly opposed the existence of this place,” Shiori remarks. “I am not sure he is going to approve of paying for damages.”

“Ah, well, he’s not going to know until the bill comes in, now will he?” Youji says, venturing off to soothe various infuriated people with the wonders of plastic.

*

“Did you steal my credit card again?” Masaomi says, coming into the room. Shiori looks over towards where Youji sits incredibly nonchalantly on the couch.

“‘Again?’” she says.

“Yes, I did,” Youji says, who continues to be very nonchalant in the face of theft accusations.

“I told you to stop that,” Masaomi says.

“No, you didn’t. Your exact words were, ‘teach me how to do that.’”

“And you didn’t,” Masaomi pouts. “Which was very cruel.”

“The world is better off without you knowing how to pick pockets, Masa-chan.”

“Youji-san is a pickpocket?” Shiori asks, a little bemused by this interaction.

“A very skilled one,” Masaomi says, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Youji is _very_ good with his hands.”

“Stop saying things like that,” Youji says.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Shiori says, smiling prettily. “Please, Masaomi-san, do tell me more about Youji-san’s talented hands.”

“Stop, please,” Youji begs.

“For one thing, don’t play poker with him,” Masaomi says. “He cheats.”

“You cheat!” Youji says indignantly.

“I count cards like God intended. Which is a thing that gets messed up when _someone_ palms them or cheats in the deal.”

“That is a not very shocking and sadly tame revelation,” Shiori says.

“He also gives very excellent massages,” Masaomi says.

“There have been no massages,” Youji says. “He has no way of knowing that.”

“But I can tell,” Masaomi says graciously. “You just know they’d be great. He has such a soft touch.”

“If I paid you back, would you stop being like this?” Youji asks.

“Chances are, probably not,” Masaomi says. “Also, you have no money, so that’s a moot point. Give me my credit card back.”

“No,” Youji says. “You don’t deserve that credit card. You didn’t know it was missing. Clearly it was unloved.”

“Do you let all your friends steal from you, Masaomi-san?” Shiori asks.

“Why, are you interested?” Masaomi asks.

“Just wondering if it’s an option,” Shiori responds. “Or if it’s only exclusive to men with very talented hands.”

“Shiori, you are welcome to put your hands down my pants at any time you feel like it,” Masaomi says, very earnestly.

“For your wallet,” Shiori says.

“For any reason you need,” Masaomi says with a smile.

“I am sure your wallet is the only interesting thing I could find in your pants.”

“Ouch,” Masaomi says, as Youji laughs. “I rescind my permission. Only Youji can steal from me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for the first time Youji picked Masaomi's pocket, which ran too closely into the territory of the epic long fic that I'm working on for their backstory, so I wrote this short instead.


	66. 3 on 3

“You draw a colored stick, and whoever has the same color is on the same team, what’s not to understand?” Takao asks, slightly quizzical.

“I understood the fundamentals,” Midorima says stiffly. “I said I didn’t understand why we were doing this. As in, I do not see why it is necessary. We already have teams, why don’t we play in those teams?”

“They’re one-on-one games, Shin-chan,” Takao says, rolling his eyes, “They’re quick and they only need three per team. Drawing colored sticks is a time-honored way of random chance.”

“Yes, but it’s _unnecessary,_ ” Midorima insists, since clearly Takao is missing the point. “We have teams, I would much rather play with people from Shutoku, playing with anyone else just seems like a fruitless endeavor—”

Takao bursts out laughing but then he quickly stifles it, although he’s still grinning when he says, “Why, Shin-chan, do you not want to play with new people?”

“That has nothing—! I only mean it’s pointless to play with _rivals_ , it’s not that—I am perfectly capable of playing with other people!”

Takao is still (badly) trying to hide his snicker when he says, “Of course not, Shin-chan, I’m sure you’ll be perfectly fine playing well with the other kids.”

Midorima glowers at him but doesn’t respond since _privately_ he is, perhaps, a little concerned about his ability to play well with other people.

*

Takao does not stop laughing after the teams are decided, for reasons Midorima doesn’t quite understand. Midorima’s boyfriend is positively howling with laughter at Midorima’s team (and considering Takao ended up on a team with Kagami and Aomine, which is surely the worst combination possible, Midorima isn’t entirely sure why Takao finds _his_ group the more outrageous one). Midorima is not entirely happy with his team, but for reasons that are most likely unrelated to Takao’s glee.

“This is exactly why selecting teams at random was a stupid endeavor,” Midorima says hotly. “We don’t need _two_ Shooting Guards.”

“We’re not playing a full game, moron,” Hyuuga says. “It doesn’t matter what positions we normally play.”

“I like it,” Aomine’s captain says. “There can be a lot of advantages, dont’cha think? And anyway, it’s like a Point Guard sandwich between Shooting Guard bread.”

Both Midorima and Hyuuga eye Imayoshi warily. There was something that sounded almost… _dirty_ about that statement, but neither Midorima nor Hyuuga can quite pinpoint why.

“This is dumb,” Midorima announces. And he can’t quite bring himself to say that he is used to Takao as his Point Guard and all things considered, would really rather not having a different Point Guard. Especially not _this_ Point Guard.

“Aww, lighten up,” Imayoshi says. “I’ll be sure to be gentle with my kouhai.”

Both Midorima and Hyuuga still have matched expressions of suspicion with the things that Imayoshi is saying.

“ _Glasses,_ ” Takao finally gasps. “It’s the glasses team!”

And then he continues to laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked for the end cards (3 on 3 games) in this universe, and this short was inspired by my favorite one =D


	67. Music - Midorima

Midorima tends to associate Takao with laughter, because Takao is someone who always laughs. Laughter is one of those _very human_ things that Midorima didn’t know much about until they’d escaped Teiko.

There wasn’t a lot of laughter in Teiko.

After a few months living on the JSDF base, Midorima corrects his initial understanding—laughter isn’t inherently human. After all, the scientists in Teiko never laughed either. It’s not something everyone does. In fact, he thinks the world could be separated into two different types of people: those who laugh and those who don’t.

(Not laughter in general, that is. Most everyone laughs, at some point. But, Midorima thinks, laughter can be a state of being. Either you’re the kind of person who laughs a lot or you’re not. Midorima is not. In all fairness, he is fairly certain he wouldn’t be, even if he hadn’t been raised in a lab.)

*

But it isn’t just laughter—Takao is almost always making noise. Even when they’re studying together—an activity that pretty much everyone agrees should be silent—Takao sometimes hums to himself or taps his pencil against the desk. It bothered Midorima at first, but not anymore. It’s another one of those things that makes the outside world so different than Teiko—there was never any sounds in Teiko, not like this.

And it’s another thing that makes Takao so different from everyone else.

*

And still it takes him entirely surprise, the first time he hears Takao sing. The basketball club goes to a Karaoke bar (“For _team_ building,” says Miyaji)—Midorima opts out of singing (no amount of cajoling will convince him to give it a try) but Takao nearly stops him from breathing.

He has to sit there the entire time Takao sings and pretend that he doesn’t care at all—that the sound means nothing to him. Because he thinks that if he doesn’t control himself this way, he’ll get up and kiss Takao right in front of everyone, or do something equally embarrassing. He wants to listen to the sound forever and feels like so much loss when Takao’s turn stops and someone else gets up to sing.

*

Then it’s just a matter of catching Takao at it—it happens sometimes, in the same idle way that Takao sometimes hums. It’s always too short, and Midorima always wishes there was a way he could capture it forever (it would be too embarrassing to ask Takao for a recording. He still can’t even admit that he likes the sound).

*

Someday, he thinks. Someday he’ll tell Takao. Someday he’ll have the song forever.

But for now he keeps it secret, because it seems like one of those things that no one else should know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last of the music inspired prompts =D Someone asked for Midorima hearing Takao singing. I acknowledge this one is very much like a short I wrote in the "Ephemera" collection, because apparently I like rocking a theme with these two.


	68. Protective

Sayuri spends a lot of time observing the mutant children when they first start living on the base. She, like all of the humans on this base, wonders a lot about their past, and what the scientists were thinking when they created them.

For one thing, she wonders why so many of them are male. Was that a preference of the scientists? Or—and she shudders to think—did the women just not make it out?

She wonders why the only girl who made it out clearly isn’t a soldier, like the rest. She wonders if that was sexism on the part of the scientists—did they not think women could be soldiers?

And she wonders what the boys think about this lone girl in their company. What is she to the others?

*

The first time she catches one of the other Privates eyeing the _thirteen year old girl_ in a distinctly leering fashion she’s about to deck the man without warning.

Blue (literally) beats her to it, as a bright blue flash makes the man go flying, and there’s a snarling teenage boy glowing in bright lights saying, “Look at her again and I’ll snap your neck.”

“Blue,” the girl chides.

Sayuri makes a mental note, and continues to observe.

*

It’s not just Blue, later named Aomine, although he is the most vigilant. Midorima will help her move heavy objects, Kise can be just as watchful as Aomine, even Murasakibara will sometimes position himself as a shield between Momoi and what might be a threat.

Is it because she is “the girl?” It is disappointing to Sayuri, although she’s not sure why she would expect human experimentation scientists to be a little more progressive when genetically designing superhumans.

*

“Momoi-san, I do not think it is a good idea for you to venture out at night,” Sayuri overhears Kuroko say one day. ( _Kuroko,_ who of all the Miracles, is not the most athletically inclined).

“Tetsu-kun! Not you too! Don’t be so paranoid.”

“I am sorry, Momoi-san. Old habits die hard.”

“Well, it’s not the same anymore. We saw to that, remember?”

“Yes, I know.”

“You’re not in danger anymore,” Momoi says.

“Yes,” Kuroko says. And leaves it at that.

 _Not the same,_ Sayuri repeats in her mind. _**You’re** not in danger anymore._

*

There’s a time to be devious when trying to wheedle answers out of the Miracles, and there’s a time to be blunt. She eyes Aomine and says, “Why do you protect Satsuki?”

“I protect all of them,” Aomine snaps. And Sayuri nods once, allowing for her error. Asking Aomine was a mistake. He does protect all of them.

So she asks Midorima next, because he is the most likely to give her a straightforward answer.

He pushes up his glasses and doesn’t look at her when he says, “Because she’s our control tower.”

Sayuri thinks through this and says slowly, “Your data analyst.”

And it’s more than that, she realizes.

In chess, the king is a largely stationary piece. More useless than a pawn. But if you lose the king, you lose the game. So in that sense, the king is the most important piece on the board.

_You’re not in danger anymore._

_Old habits die hard._

“Without Satsuki on a mission, you could all die.”

Midorima doesn’t confirm this, but Sayuri thinks about how occasionally, they’ll talk about a mission where Satsuki got bad information and not all of them made it back. How terrifying it must be, for them to venture out without any information at all.

“I see,” she says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for the Miracles to be protective over Momoi, which I took in a slightly different direction, but was an interesting thing to explore.


	69. Miracle Fiancees

“Where’s Kuroko?” is the first thing Himuro asks when upon settling into Kagami’s apartment for the weekend.

“He needed to stay at the Fujimakis for the night,” Kagami says, blushing slightly. “He had things to do there.”

“Why, Kagami. Is your house-husband being considerate and giving us permission to have a bro’s night?” Himuro asks, sounding faintly amused, and Kagami scowls because he _knew_ Himuro would take it that way.

“He just figured if you weren’t bringing Murasakibara then maybe he’d give us privacy, that’s all,” Kagami says defensively.

“Atsushi didn’t want to come all the way to Tokyo to visit you. Or any of the other Miracles, for that matter,” Himuro says. “It is so adorable that you’re aware how co-dependent you two are.”

“Oh, _you’re_ one to talk,” Kagami snaps, but he knows that maybe he’s being defensive because of how true it is. The whole thing where Kuroko said, “I think I will spend the night with the Fujimakis. They have been dropping hints about my visiting more often,” when Kagami _knew_ it’s because he wanted to give Kagami some time with Himuro alone and how it was all very _married_ seemed kind of absurd, considering they’re still in high school.

Not bad, mind you. He likes it. He’s just aware that it’s ridiculous.

“Well,” Himuro announces while taking out his cell phone, “This is too good an opportunity to pass up.”

*

“PARTY AT KAGAMI’S,” Takao shouts as he bursts through the door.

“What,” Kagami says.

“Be respectful,” Kasamatsu chides, and he’s holding a bottle of cider. “We’re in someone else’s house. I brought beverages.”

“You could have brought beer,” Takao pouts.

“No, I couldn’t have,” Kasamatsu glares.

“I brought board games!” Furihata says.

“Why is everyone here?” Kagami demands.

“The entire Miracle Boyfriends Club is currently in Tokyo,” Himuro says innocently. “How could I pass up this chance? I’m bidding for President next term.”

“The _Basketball_ chapter of the Miracle Boyfriends Club is currently in Tokyo,” Takao corrects. “Our auxiliary members are not here. If you can’t keep _that_ straight then good luck trying to depose my reign!”

“I am sure I could make much better shirts than you,” Himuro says.

“Hey, shouldn’t Kagami be a ‘Miracle Fiancee’ now?” Furihata wonders. And everyone turns to Kagami, causing him to blush again.

“Little brother, did you engaged without telling me?” Himuro says.

“Not, like, _officially,_ ” Kagami mutters. “I mean, we’ve talked about it and it’s definitely going to happen and I, like, have permission from his dad or whatever. But it’s not like there’s been a ring or an official declaration or something.”

“Not like,” Himuro mocks.

“Then this is like an early bachelor party!” Takao says brightly.

“No, it’s not,” Kagami says. “I’m not having one of those. It’s dumb when there’s two men involved any how.”

“Gay men are allowed to have bachelor parties!” Takao says indignantly.

“What, would we each get our own and divvy up our friends? We have the same friends,” Kagami says.

“Two parties, duh,” Takao says. “Double the fun.”

“Congratulations,” Kasamatsu says, frowning. “I should have brought more cider.”

“Or champagne,” Takao says.

“It’s not—that’s like, way in the future,” Kagami says.

“You said after high school,” Furihata points out.

“Yeah, way in the future,” Kagami says.

“Oh lord,” Himuro says. “OK. Now I have other concerns.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Takao says, waving this aside, “Tonight is the night of celebration! For Kagami’s future wedding. Or anyone’s future wedding. I’m sure there will be future weddings at some point.”

“If—if we all became Miracle Husbands we’d need nicer shirts,” Furihata says, also blushing.

“I call dibs,” Himuro says, a beat before Takao does.

“Oh, I will _wrestle_ you for this title,” Takao says.

“I’d win,” Himuro says passively.

Kagami is not sure what happened to his life at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for Miracle Boyfriends sleepover, which just turned into wacky hijinks, really. And because someone pointed out that Kagami was technically a Miracle Fiancee and needed a new shirt =D


	70. Masaomi and Kuroko

During his final days at the JSDF, Kuroko is very tired, and he can’t even say with one hundred percent confidence that he actually cares enough about his fellow Miracles to try and protect them from harm.

(A lie. He cares. He will always care. But he’s tired, so very tired, and after what happened with Ogiwara, he’s not entirely inclined to help out the other Miracles. Especially not Akashi.)

But Momoi was the one who asked; and Kuroko feels that out of all of them, she is the only one who has suffered more than he has during this whole attempt at socialization. Momoi, after all, is much more personable than Kuroko is, and really could have made lots of friends, had the other Miracles given her the chance.

Because Momoi still cares—“Please, Tetsu-kun, what if he’s in danger? What if the man will use him?”—Kuroko is here, caring, and against his better judgement, trying to discover if Akashi Masaomi means them harm.

*

“Why do you want to adopt Akashi-kun?” Kuroko asks, and he’s glowing black as he asks, and the question comes out of nowhere so Masaomi stops and looks at him, slightly intrigued.

“You’re the forgettable kid,” Masaomi says.

“Yes, that is correct,” Kuroko replies calmly.

“You’re using your power right now,” Masaomi observes.

“That is also correct.”

“Fascinating. I always assumed you were boring. I’ll have to update my information accordingly.”

“You will not remember this conversation, Akashi-san.”

“Even so,” Masaomi says, grinning. “But if that is the case, I have very little incentive to cooperate with you, now do I? Unless you plan on torturing the answer out of me.”

Kuroko is not entirely sure what to do with that sort of response. “I am not going to do that.”

“Ha,” Masaomi says. “You are boring. How dull.”

Momoi thinks this man might be connected to Teiko in some way. He’s studying Kuroko in that calculated way the Teiko scientists used to watch him, so it is not an unreasonable assumption. But Kuroko thinks that is probably not true—he is far more concerned with Akashi Masaomi being the same _kind_ of person as a Teiko scientist, which would be just as bad.

“Do you care about him?” Kuroko asks.

“He is a very worthy opponent,” Masaomi says reassuringly, “And I put a fair amount of value in worthy opponents.” He has a particular gleam in his eye when he asks, “Just how extensive _is_ your memory erasure ability?”

“Let’s find out,” Kuroko says.

*

“Satsuki does not need to be concerned about my adopted father,” Akashi tells Kuroko later, before the actual move takes place. “And neither do you, Tetsuya.”

“What makes you think I am concerned?” Kuroko replies.

“If Satsuki was concerned, I imagine she must have gotten you involved as well. You must have used your abilities on him, for he does not remember you at all.”

Kuroko doesn’t reply.

“He is underestimating you,” Akashi says thoughtfully. “I could have told him that was a mistake.”

“Why didn’t you?” Kuroko asks.

Akashi smiles. “That would be no fun at all. I would never give my opponent any kind of warning.”

Later, Kuroko thinks that he is still not sure what kind of person Akashi Masaomi is. But regardless, he is fairly certain that both Akashis are well suited for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for Masaomi and Kuroko to interact during their JSDF days. Since I'm currently writing a long story about Masaomi and wasn't sure how an early Kuroko meeting would go, it just made sense to make sure Masaomi doesn't remember the meeting, that way there's no potential inconsistencies for later plans =P


	71. Oikawa

Oikawa is over at Iwaizumi’s house when the news report about the Miracles first comes in.

“This is the coolest thing that has ever happened,” Oikawa says, wide-eyed and fixed on the television screen.

“It’s a hoax, moron,” Iwaizumi says.

“It’s on an official news channel!” Oikawa says hotly. “It’s on _all_ the official news channels!”

“That just means they’re all being tricked,” Iwaizumi says. “It’s all turn out to be fake, you’ll see. Like the Loch Ness Monster.”

Oikawa sucks in his breath and scowls at his friend, “How _dare_ you insult Nessie.”

*

In the coming days, Iwaizumi grudgingly has to admit it is less likely to be a hoax, and Oikawa’s gloating is almost impossible to bear.

*

“Do you think they’re aliens?” Oikawa asks.

“No,” Iwaizumi says, not even questioning who Oikawa is referring to when he is suddenly ambushed with the question. “The news all said they were genetic experiments.” Even as he says it, he can’t believe that’s now the more reasonable thing to say. What even is his life right now.

“They’re kept on a military base! That’s where they always keep the aliens.”

“Oh, right,” Iwaizumi says, rolling his eyes. “How could I forget. There’s a standard practice for aliens.”

“Iwa-chan, don’t you ever get tired of being wrong all the time?” Oikawa says loftily.

“Oikawa, we’re in high school now, don’t you think you’re getting a little old for aliens?”

“I will never be too old for aliens, not even when I’m _thirty,_ ” Oikawa says, and Iwaizumi has to wonder if that’s the oldest Oikawa could imagine ever being.

*

“Why are you watching _basketball_ games?” Iwaizumi asks.

“No reason,” Oikawa says.

“You’re watching the games with the Miracles, aren’t you?”

“I am a bit surprised they’re allowed to play, is all. It’s clear they have a lot of physical advantages. Can you imagine being as tall as that when you were sixteen?”

“You mean, all of two years ago?” Iwaizumi says, just to remind Oikawa they are not that much older than the genetic experiments. Then he looks at the purple haired youth on the television and says, “And no, I can’t. You’re right, it doesn’t seem fair that they get to play.”

“That’s not what I said,” Oikawa says, but he doesn’t explain what that means. Then, almost off-hand, he says, “They could never make it playing volleyball.”

Iwaizumi looks at the television again and has to disagree—someone that tall would make an _incredible_ blocker. But then he realizes what Oikawa means: they’re not team players. “Well, maybe not. Are you sorry you don’t get to play against them?”

“Hmm,” Oikawa says with a smile. “A superpowered mutant playing volleyball—that _would_ be fun. I think I would enjoy beating them quite a lot.”

He turns to Iwaizumi with a new thought, “Say, you don’t think _Tobio-chan_ was created in a lab, do you?”

“Probably not,” Iwaziumi says. Then he thinks about it and adds, “His hair is a normal color.”

“True,” Oikawa acknowledges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was for Oikawa's thoughts on the Miracles. I now headcanon that Oikawa just loves all conspiracy theories, and wants to save up to travel to the American Pacific Northwest to look for Bigfoot =D


	72. Sex Advice

“Wait, Hinata asked _you_ for sex advice? _You?_ ”

Kenma instantly regrets telling his boyfriend this information.

“Yes,” he says, irritably.

“And what exactly did _you_ have to tell him?” Kuroo says, highly amused by this. “With all your infinite and superior wisdom about sex?”

Kenma, all things considered, feels this teasing is very uncalled for, even if his knowledge _had_ been theoretical. He does _read_ after all; there is the internet and movies and books and very informative fanfiction he will never admit to reading, so all things considered, he certainly knows more than Hinata and Kuroo doesn’t need to sound like that.

He would explain this all to Kuroo, except instead he just sniffs and says, “I knew people before I dated you, Kuroo.”

And that takes awhile to sink, and it is supremely satisfying to hear Kuroo say, “You did _not_ you liar, I _grew up with you._ What people? What people are you talking about?”

*

“No,” Kasamatsu cuts in with very commanding vehemence. “I am shutting this down right now. I am using my veto powers as Vice President. We are not discussing sex in this club.”

“What? Why not?” Takao exclaims.

“First rule of Miracle Boyfriend Club, don’t talk about sex in Miracle Boyfriend Club,” Himuro murmurs.

“Yes, that, exactly,” Kasamatsu says, like a man who has not watched _Fight Club._ “We are not discussing that ever.”

“I’m the President, you can’t decide that unless you give me a good reason,” Takao says.

“First, because it’s tacky. Second, because that’s not why we meet, this is not an episode of _Sex in the City._ Third, because you’re going to kill Kagami.”

Takao briefly wonders why Kasamatsu knows about _Sex in the City_ and not _Fight Club._ He will admit Kagami looks like he’s dying.

“I just want to talk about basketball, OK?” Kagami says, almost as red as his hair. He’s not the only embarrassed one here, although Furihata looks a little more intrigued than embarrassed. “And, like, I don’t need to know that, OK? Not when I’m playing basketball against— _all_ of you.”

“But what if I have questions?” Takao says, fluttering his eyelashes.

Kasamatsu scowls at him. “You don’t have questions, you’re just nosey.”

“What if someone else has question? Kageyama, you look like you have questions.”

“I read books and stuff,” Kageyama says mildly. “I research the important things.”

“I bet,” Takao leers.

“Call me,” Himuro says, “We’ll talk later. I agree, not at the Club. Let’s not kill Taiga.”

“Oh, Himuro-nii-san, you’re my favorite of the senpais,” Takao says.

“Shut up, no one cares,” Kasamatsu says.

*

“So, like, is no one going to talk about what Murasakibara said?” Hinata asks Kuroko later.

Kuroko looks at his friend and says, “No. I have very purposefully not asked for details about Murasakibara-kun’s sex life.”

Hinata thinks on this. “Yeah, OK. Fair. I super don’t want to know about you guys. You’re like my brothers.” He scrunches his nose. “Although I asked Kenma, and he sorta is also my brother. I don’t know. It’s weirder with you guys.”

  
“Yes,” Kuroko agrees. “Very much so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a series of prompts from forever ago after Hinata asked Kenma about sex that I didn't know how to fill and then just filled them all at once =D


	73. Mihashi and Hinata

Mihashi Ren is pleasantly drowning in thoughts about volleyball.

This would be unusual, except they are not his thoughts. They are the thoughts of the orange-haired boy sitting next to him, who has been talking rather animatedly about volleyball for a good ten minutes.

Ordinarily, Mihashi tries not to focus too much on someone else’s thoughts (except for Abe, who is the exception in all things). In fact, he once again came to the JSDF base without Abe so that he could get in the habit of not depending on using someone else’s mind as a crutch. Except, the base was more overwhelming than he expected, and here he is, concentrating on a stranger’s thoughts, letting himself get swept up in someone else’s mind so that he doesn’t have to be lost inside his own.

He’d feel bad about invading the other boy’s privacy, if his thoughts weren’t so perfectly aligned with what he is saying out loud.

Hinata Shouyou is talking about volleyball and at the same time he is thinking about volleyball.

*

Hinata had strolled into the waiting room looking sort of sulky and petulant, but he’d instantly brightened when he saw Mihashi was there too.

“HI!” he said loudly, startling Mihashi out of his downward spiral of distress. “Are you here for a check-up? Man, I hate these things. But they say I have to, if I want to keep playing volleyball. Do you play a sport?”

“…Baseball,” Mihashi said meekly, already bombarded with images of a sport he knows nothing about.

“Baseball, huh? I watch games sometimes with my dad. He was always disappointed I didn’t like baseball more, he said it was a national past time. I’m Hinata Shouyou.”

“…Mihashi…Ren…” Mihashi said meekly, already getting pictures of Hinata’s father, a smiling orange-haired man who reminded Mihashi of his own dad.

“Ren, huh? I don’t know, baseball seems sorta dull. Not that I’m insulting your sport! I would never insult someone else’s sport! But only one person at a time ever seems to _do_ anything, even on offense. That would drive me nuts.”

Hinata carried on with why he liked volleyball and his own team then, and he didn’t seem to mind Mihashi’s awkwardness with his responses, and all in all, Mihashi found him a pleasant but overpowering person to talk to.

*

Hinata talks about volleyball and his thoughts about volleyball are right behind. He talks about each member of his team and he’s thinking about them, loud and clear. Mihashi has rarely encountered thoughts so _strong._ Not like Abe—Abe is loud, but very distinctly Abe, with organized, straightforward thoughts that help Mihashi maintain a sense of self in a rather chaotic world.

Listening to Hinata is like basking in sunshine. Powerful, volleyball-centric sunshine. It’s easy to get swept up and lost and for a few seconds Mihashi doesn’t know who he is, he’s just completely surrounded by thoughts of volleyball and Karasuno and how much love is behind these thoughts and it’s nice.

It’s really nice.

*

“Hinata-kun, it’s time—oh! Mihashi-kun, I didn’t know you were waiting in this room.”

The doctor feels guilty, and that thought brings Mihashi back to reality. The doctor feels guilty because he didn’t want Mihashi in the room with other people because he knows other people tend to hurt Mihashi with their minds.

Mihashi tries and fails a couple of times to indicate it was OK—he didn’t mind being around Hinata.

“We’ll do your tests first, Hinata-kun,” the doctor says.

“ _Guh,_ I already told you guys, I’m a better player now because I’ve been _practicing_. Not because my super powers have all of the sudden given me an edge.”

Mihashi blinks.

“Yes, yes, I know, but regular tests calm anyone who might think you have an advantage. Professional athletes have to undergo regular checkups for performance enhancement too, think of it that way.”

“Laaaame. It was nice meeting you, Ren!”

Mihashi makes a squeaking sound and remembers to wave. He stares after Hinata for a good long while after he’s gone.

It hadn’t even occurred to him that Hinata wasn’t human. That hadn’t been in Hinata’s mind at all. And only belatedly, does it occur to Mihashi that Hinata must have been a Miracle, the same as Akashi. He must have experienced the same kind of things that Akashi did.

It’s the first time that it occurs to Mihashi—the first time he actually realizes that it’s _possible_ —that maybe you can move on from your past after all, and not forever be haunted by your trauma.

It’s a nice thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for these two to meet =D


	74. The Altar

There are days when Masaomi is convinced no one will ever be able to understand his son better than him.

That is, after all, why he chose to adopt Seijuurou in the first place. Because he was confident that he understood the kid in a way no one else could.

He knows that the JSDF soldiers—the other people who became guardians for the Teiko Projects—he knows what they are trying to do. They are trying to normalize the Miracles; expose them to what a human family would be like, and given time, teach them how to be a human and how to interact with other people.

In principle, Masaomi can appreciate the theory, but he fundamentally believes they are _wrong_. The Miracles will never be _normal_ and why is that even something worth accomplishing anyhow? With every fiber of his being, he loathes the idea of taking an extraordinary child and wearing them down until they become ordinary; removing every single thing about them that shines until they resemble everyone else.

It was something the adults in _his_ life had tried often enough when he was a child, and it was the one thing he swore he would never do to a child of his own.

*

But there are times when, occasionally, he thinks he doesn’t understand Seijuurou at all.

The revelation about the second personality did not come as a surprise, but strangely, the reason behind it had. And now he stares at the altar in Seijuurou’s room and he’s surprised once again, but he can’t fully pinpoint why.

_Perhaps because you didn’t expect him to care,_ says a particularly nasty inner voice that Masaomi tends to ignore most days. _Perhaps because you lost everyone in your family and never shed a tear and you didn’t expect he would either._

Masaomi pointedly tells the nasty inner voice to fuck off.

But that thing that might be the remnant tatters of his conscience is probably correct. He hadn’t expected Seijuurou to mourn anyone. Masaomi always made a point of trying not to; it’s hard to wrap his head around the fact that Seijuurou might be different.

_Seijuurou might be more human than you after all._

Masaomi continues to ignore this inner voice.

“What are you doing in my room, father?”

“Invading your privacy. It’s my right as your parent, after all. Check for alcohol, porn, marijuana. You know the like.”

He turns and smiles at Seijuurou, who absolutely knows that Masaomi had been looking at the altar— _Gold,_ Masaomi recalls—but he doesn’t say anything, so Masaomi doesn’t.

Later, Masaomi will think how perhaps it is just as well that Seijuurou is normal in this one way. His own way of handling grief is (admittedly) not particularly healthy. It is just as well that Seijuurou is not like him in mourning.

The world is surely better off, at any rate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a request for Masaomi's reaction to finding Gold's altar. (Masaomi's reaction to finding out about Gold is something I am currently working on in a very long story!)


	75. Thanksgiving

It was not uncommon for Alexandra Garcia to drop in on their home unannounced. (At this point, Kuroko is just thankful for whenever Alex is fully clothed at their discovery of her presence.) But when she bursts through the doors with Himuro and Murasakibara in tow and a large bottle of sake, it comes as quite a surprise for both of them.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Alex booms. Himuro and Murasakibara come bearing a lot of grocery bags, which Himuro takes charge of directing his boyfriend to start laying out in the kitchen.

“ _Alex?_ ” Kagami says, still managing to sound disbelieving despite all available evidence in front of him. “What are you doing here?”

“ _Thanksgiving,_ didn’t you hear me?”

“But—we’re in Japan?” Kagami says.

“I know! That’s why I paid an _obscene_ amount of money to have a proper turkey shipped over here, and I brought all my groceries with me,” Alex says magnanimously. “Getting those past customs was a really _interesting_ endeavor. Thank God I have large breasts. I can’t tell you how much these things come in handy.”

“Ooh, do tell,” Himuro says. “That sounds like a fascinating story.”

“Please don’t,” Kagami begs.

“Maybe later, after the sake,” Alex winks broadly.

“But—why are you here?” Kagami says, still confused.

“Because it’s _Thanksgiving_ and Thanksgiving is about _family._ And I thought about you two, all alone and abandoned in Japan, without a proper Turkey or cranberry sauce or pumpkin pie. And it was too much for me to bear, thinking about how all alone my boys would be. So I came to you with America at hand!”

Kagami squints his eyes suspiciously at her. “You just want us to cook for you, don’t you?”

“It’s because I LOVE you!” Alex booms. “Now shut up and get in the kitchen and stuff that turkey.”

Kagami rolls his eyes, but he presumably obeys, because he walks towards the kitchen, where Himuro is still setting up supplies.

Kuroko has been feeling a mounting alarm throughout this entire exchange, largely because he has no idea what is happening. He feels like this is something that maybe he shouldn’t intrude upon, but finally curiosity makes him bold and he tentatively ventures, “… _What_ is Kagami-kun going to do to that turkey?”

“AH!” Alex yells, causing Kuroko further alarm. And then she grabs him and squishes his face to her breasts. “You’re not a girl, but you’re adorable. This is your first Thanksgiving, isn’t it? Both you and Atsushi!” She presses a large smacking kiss against Kuroko’s lips before Kuroko can do anything about it. “It’ll be the best Thanksgiving ever! Atsushi, you’re next! Come here and let me kiss you!” She releases Kuroko abruptly to go chasing after Murasakibara, who retreats behind Himuro.

Himuro, promptly, banishes everyone but Kagami from the kitchen and orders Alex to stop sexually harassing his boyfriend.

*

“That… is the largest bird I have ever seen,” Kuroko says, his eyes wide.

“It looks _amazing_ ,” Murasakibara coos.

“Christ, Alex. Overboard, much?” Kagami says.

“Don’t be ridiculous, I know how much you can eat. I’ve seen Atsushi too, so I bagged the biggest one I could find.” Alex seems quite proud of her acquisition, leaving Kuroko to wonder if she hunted and killed the bird herself.

“What exactly is the purpose of this holiday?” Kuroko says, because it still hasn’t been properly explained to him. Alex had launched into something about “the pleasant lies we tell children about genocide” and how “it was all like Santa anyway” and then ended on something vague about a red rocket and the signing of some sort of paper, to which Kagami said she was confusing her holidays and Alex said “it was all make believe so it didn’t matter” and then she’d insisted on finding a channel that had an American Football game playing because “it’s tradition.”

Kuroko thoroughly does not understand this holiday.

*

“It’s about the food, really,” Himuro explains serenely as he sets everything out. “This is the one holiday that’s all about the food.”

And the food was clearly very particular, since Himuro and Kagami had argued at length about the best kind of stuffing and also how to prepare the gravy.

“This is a good holiday,” Murasakibara nods his head, munching on a bread roll he’d managed to steal from the kitchen.

“You have a holiday to celebrate food?” Kuroko asks.

“And like, family and junk,” Kagami says. “But mostly the food. And football.”

“We play basketball,” Kuroko feels the need to remind him.

“Not on Thanksgiving we don’t,” Kagami says.

*

“It’s about being thankful,” Alex says after dinner, nuzzled into Kuroko’s shoulder, with her leg’s strewn over Kagami’s lap, who is also cheerfully passed out.  “It’s a time to be thankful for all the good things in your life.”

“Oh,” Kuroko says, “I see.”

“It’s Taiga’s favorite holiday,” Alex says. “Cuz he likes to eat.” Then she makes a loud snorting sound and begins to snore lightly into Kuroko.

Kagami probably appreciated that she came. Kuroko is too, now that he understands the holiday.  

He has a lot to be thankful for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was unprompted! I just really wanted to write a Thanksgiving fic for Thanksgiving =D


	76. Pop Culture

“Kagami-kun, could you please explain something to me?” Kuroko asks.

“Sure, if I can,” Kagami says, because it is not the first time Kuroko has asked him to explain a reference he doesn’t understand. (It usually doesn’t help. Since Kagami grew up in America, he doesn’t always have an explanation for the things in Japan. Like some of the vending machines they have here.)

“Why does Himuro-san keep using the eggplant emoji in his text messages?”  
Kagami freezes.

“It is not time for _Obon,_ so it cannot be related to that,” Kuroko continues. He stares at Kagami with that impossible-to-read face of his, and Kagami thinks, _There’s no way he doesn’t know… right? Is he messing with me right now?  
_  
Then he has a mild panic attack at the thought of _oh shit what if he’s_ not  _messing with me?_

“Er,” he says. “No, probably not Obon related, no.”

“I was thinking he was wishing me good luck dreams,” Kuroko says, “But that didn’t always fit the context of the message.”

“Right,” Kagami says weakly, still debating with himself. _He’s gotta know. It would be just like Kuroko to pretend not to know._ “And what exactly is the context of those messages?”

“Usually, we are talking about you,” Kuroko says, and Kagami contemplates murdering his brother.

(Truthfully, he’s not sure why he finds this so embarrassing. He is dating Kuroko. He is planning on marrying Kuroko. They live together, they sleep in the same bed. He should be able to explain what an eggplant emoji is.)

Kuroko continues to stare at him with eyes very similar to a puppy.

“Tatsuya just…really identifies with an eggplant,” Kagami says.

“Oh, I see,” Kuroko says, and he picks up his phone, presumably to message Himuro back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The request was for the Miracles to be slow on pop culture, which was difficult for me, because I am also slow on pop culture! This was all I could think of.


	77. Embarrassing Lines

Takao gives Kuroko a sidelong glance and, like, he’s trying not to judge. What two people do or say in their relationship is none of his business, even if he _does_ think that Kagami and Kuroko tend to be absurdly over the top with their public displays of affection when basketball is not involved.

He tries to practice restraint for three whole seconds before he finally caves and says, “Sooo… is the whole light and shadow thing just the language of love in the Kagami-Kuroko household, or…”

It’s hard to say, but he feels like Kuroko’s blank expression seems particularly cheeky when he replies calmly, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Takao-kun.”

Takao just rolls his eyes. “People call me and Shin-chan the ‘light and shadow of Shutoku’ but _we_ don’t go around spouting poetry before saying good-bye for the afternoon.”

“Wait, back up,” Hinata says, frowning, “What’s all this light and shadow stuff? Is that a basketball thing?”

Both Takao and Kuroko fall silent, perhaps slightly embarrassed, because while it all sounds like something very important during, say, the height of the Winter Cup, when you try and explain it to people it becomes a little… dramatic.

“I am a shadow,” Kuroko says, proving that he has zero shame, “And Kagami is the light. As I told him when we first met, the brighter the light, the darker the shadow.”

Takao is fully expecting the volleyball player to laugh hysterically at this pronouncement (God knows _Takao_ would be, if he wasn’t so implicated in this process), but instead, Hinata’s eyes practically form stars as he bounces and says, “That. Is. So. COOL.”

“Uhhh,” Takao says, “No, it’s really not.”

“That is the most awesome thing _ever!_ Basketball has some surprisingly cool things!”  
  
“Uh,” Takao says again, torn between wanting to assert that basketball is awesome all the time and also wanting to make sure Hinata understands that this is actually sort of lame once you say it out loud and not representative of the sport. As a compromise, he says, “I think this is more of a Kagami and Kuroko kind of thing. It’s like saying, ‘the moon is beautiful’ instead of saying ‘I love you’ or something.”

“Whoa,” Hinata says again, sounding even more impressed. “That’s really deep.”

“That was well said, Takao-kun, I had no idea you were such a poet.”  
  
“ _I_ didn’t say it!” Takao yelps, “It’s a well-known poem!” He then realizes that he’s talking to two people who, all things considered, probably aren’t as well-versed in classical Japanese poetry as most other people who had a normal childhood education.

“That’s like—a bit like, maybe saying, ‘when I’m here, you’re invincible,’” Hinata mumbles, shifting around and blushing because he definitely does not know how to hide his feelings.

Kageyama, Takao reflects, must also have a surprising tendency for embarrassing lines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This request was for someone teasing the various embarrassing lines that exist within canon. One of the nice things about these shorts is that I don't have to come up for a reason as to why Hinata and Takao and Kuroko are all hanging out =P


	78. Ogiwara

The Winter Cup game against Rakuzan will always be a special memory for Kuroko. In so many ways, it felt like a convergence of new and old friends. The “other” version of Akashi came back, he was once again on friendly terms with the other Miracles, and Kagami and Seirin’s triumph during the game felt like a vindication of Kuroko’s new life.

And then there was Ogiwara Shigehiro.

It is still somewhat embarrassing how happy Kuroko was to see him standing there, holding a basketball, and rooting for Seirin.

But Kuroko had been truly convinced that he’d been responsible for ruining Ogiwara’s life. It’s still somewhat comforting to think that perhaps the psychological damage the other Miracles had inflicted isn’t permanent after all.

*

The first time they meet again, Kuroko tries to apologize. It surprises him when Ogiwara apologizes first.

“I’m sorry,” his first human friend says, throwing Kuroko completely.

“Ogiwara-kun has nothing to apologize for,” Kuroko says instantly. “ _I_ am the one who should—”

“I knew you would say that,” Ogiwara interrupts. “I think that’s why I didn’t contact you for so long. One of the reasons. Because I knew you would apologize, and it certainly wasn’t your fault.”

“The other Miracles—Akashi-kun…” Kuroko tries to think of a delicate way to say this. He doesn’t _completely_ want to throw the others under the bus, but he’s not sure how to say it without it sounding terrible. “He would not have been so vicious, if it wasn’t for my regard for you. They did not trust humans back then, and they did not like the fact that I did.”

“Yeah,” Ogiwara says, nodding, “I figured that out a long time ago. But—it’s not like I didn’t know what I was getting into, when I started going to the base. My dad had warned me, after all. And—I really did like you, Kuroko. I shouldn’t have disappeared on you like that. I _should_ have reached out to you sooner. At the very least, I should have told you sooner that I didn’t blame you, because I never did.”

This is a side to humanity that Kuroko wonders if the other Miracles know about yet. Because Ogiwara was the victim, there’s no doubt about. He had been abused by Akashi’s Absolute Order, and tormented by Kise’s Perfect Copy, and god knows what else the others did, and here he is _apologizing_ like _he_ had done something wrong.

But, as much as Kuroko takes a lot of the blame for what happened to Ogiwara as _his_ responsibility, having met Kagami and his Seirin team mates—having met people who _do_ stand by him, despite the worst—he wonders what would have been different in his life if Ogiwara _had_ stayed.

Almost instantly, he decides that it doesn’t matter. He likes where he is now, and he likes the people that he’s with. Ogiwara, like the other tragedies in Kuroko’s past, is something that had to happen so he could be where he is now.

“I am still sorry for their poor behavior,” Kuroko says, compromising. He doesn’t blame Ogiwara for leaving, and maybe in time he can even stop blaming himself. “The others were not ready to meet other people just yet. They are much more civilized now, if you ever want to talk to them…”

“No thanks,” Ogiwara says, making a face. He laughs, mostly to show that at least he’s good spirited about it. “I’m glad those guys are in a better place now, but I don’t really need to see them. Ever again.”

“Fair enough,” Kuroko replies. He wonders if the others _would_ apologize, if they had the chance.

Probably not, he thinks. Not yet. But maybe that’s something that will also change, in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a couple questions about "what happened with Ogiwara" for a very long time, and I've never fully known how to answer because I've never fully wanted to go into all the cruel things that happened to Ogiwara. So I wrote this!


	79. Merry Christmas

“Do you know about Christmas?”

Midorima looks at Naoko and pushes up his glasses. She asks the question so solemnly that he feels like he must give her the proper respect for it, even if he feels the question is rather absurd. “Of course.”

She keeps staring at him, so he feels like this answer must not be sufficient. “It is a Christian holiday primarily celebrated by Western cultures. We are not American, or European. Nor are we Christian. It is absurd for Japanese—”

“It’s a holiday for _lovers,_ ” Naoko blurts out. And then she covers her mouth and looks very red, this being not the sort of thing one discusses with their older brother.

Midorima is quite certain he does not want to have this discussion with his younger sister. “Ah,” he says.

“So you should do something with Kazunari-nii-san,” Naoko says. She looks at him very sternly, to make sure he understands.

*

“What are your plans for Christmas?” Ayumi interrogates. “More to the point, do you have plans with Shin-chan?”

“Since when do _you_ call him Shin-chan?” Takao asks, ignoring her interrogation entirely.

“He’s _practically_ my brother,” Ayumi says. “If _you_ don’t marry him, Mom will marry Kishitani-sensei, so one way or another, he’s in the family. Now. Do you _have_ plans?”

“Eh,” Takao says. “Not really? Maybe we’ll play basketball.”

“Kazu-nii!”

“We’re not the lovey dovey couple type,” Takao says, rolling his eyes. “What am I supposed to do? Buy him a pretty necklace and some chocolate?”

“I think he would like chocolate,” Ayumi says. And then adds, “And on any given Oha Asa day, he might appreciate a pretty necklace.”

“Fair point,” Takao says. “But. He’s not really used to couples things, I’ll probably just invite him over and we’ll watch a movie. Naoko-chan can come over too, you’d like that. And then Shin-chan and I can make out, subtle like, when you’re both not looking.”

“You are not _nearly_ as subtle as you think you are. Also, no. You are a boyfriend. You _have_ a boyfriend. You will go do couple things or you are an insult to everyone in the world who doesn’t have a boyfriend!”

“Do you want a boyfriend, Ayumi?” Takao asks, vaguely worried.

“Not if they’re going to be lazy like you I don’t!”

*

Takao laughs when he opens Midorima’s present and says, “What, no necklace?”

“Did you want a necklace?” Midorima asks, concerned, and also embarrassed, convinced that he did something wrong, “I didn’t know—”

“No, no, I love chocolate,” Takao leans up and kisses Midorima on the lips, quick and warm. “I’m just getting the sense that maybe we were set up.” He hands Midorima his present, a remarkably familiar box of chocolate, and the edges of Midorima’s lips quirk into a quick smile before he says:

“Ah yes, I see what you mean. Still. It’s Christmas, and I have a list of ‘couples’ activities I’m supposed to work from, if you still want to—?”

“Absolutely,” Takao says, “Wow me with your couples prowess, Shin-chan, I look forward to being wined and dined like a couple on Christmas should be.”

And even with the blatant coercion into this date, Midorima finds that he’s rather looking forward to it too.

*

“They are _such_ work,” Ayumi announces.

“Maybe we nagged too much,” Naoko says, concerned, “Couples should go on their own pace.”

“They are _snails,_ we obviously needed to interfere. And also, I wanted them out of the house. Kazu-nii eats all the popcorn on movie nights.”

Naoko nods in agreement. She feels guilty for thinking it, but the brothers _do_ eat an awful lot of their snacks on movie nights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote self-indulgent fic for Christmas =D


	80. Happy New Year

“Stop moping, just because your boyfriend isn’t here,” Kyo teases.

“I’m not!” Furihata denies instantly, but privately, he admits he  _has_ been moping. He really wanted Akashi here for the start of the new year.

It hadn’t even occurred to him that he  _wouldn’t_  be spending new year’s eve with his boyfriend. But Akashi said his father was hosting a business party and that it was very important that he attend. Furihata would have gone to Kyoto, if Akashi had asked, but Akashi had rather pointedly not invited Furihata to attend. (Furihata is slowly gathering that Akashi does not want his father to meet Furihata. Furihata doesn’t quite understand it, but he respects his boyfriend’s wishes.)

So now he’s in his house. Moping.

“No moping on the new year, Kouki,” his mother says. “This should be a time of joy.”

“I’m joyful, I’m plenty joyful,” Furihata mutters, but inwardly, he continues to sulk.

The doorbell rings, and his mother tells him to answer the door. He sighs (unnecessarily dramatic) and obeys—

Only to see his boyfriend, standing in his door, wearing a tuxedo.

“Akashi!” Furihata cries.

“Hello, Furihata,” Akashi says, breaking out in a smile. “I am glad I made it in time.”

“Did you take the helicopter again? The neighbors are starting to complain—”

Akashi steps forward and presses his lips against Furihata’s. “Let them complain,” he says when he breaks apart.

“Didn’t you have a business party?” Furihata asks, feeling warm and dizzy with happiness.

“I did,” Akashi says, “I left. I hadn’t realized—it is a human thing, yes? Tradition. Spending New Year’s Eve with your loved ones.”

“Yes, but,” Furihata blushes, “I understood, if you wanted to spend it with your father—”

“No, I am quite happier spending it with you,” Akashi reassures.

Later, when they’re watching the first sunrise again, Furihata manages to say shyly, “It’s just—the first day is supposed to represent the rest of the year. And I want to spend the rest of this year with you.”

Akashi squeezes his hand and then kisses him again, and Furihata doesn’t need any more confirmation than this about how Akashi wants to spend the rest of this year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last of my random self-indulgent holiday fic =D


	81. The Fukurodani Boy

“Have we met before?”

Akaashi startles and looks at the boy who spoke to him and wonders if it’s pickup line. Except the boy in question does look familiar, and the question sounds earnest, so probably not a pickup line—

“Oh, Fukurodani, right,” the boy says. “We  _have_  met before. At Dimples.”

And abruptly Akaashi does remember, and he blushes faintly, because apparently pickup line isn’t completely off base.

“Ah,” he says. “Sorry. I didn’t recognize you at first. Er—”

“Takao,” he says, “Takao Kazunari. And you’re Akaashi, right?” Then, at Akaashi’s  _look_  he rushes in with, “I only remembered because your name was similar enough to someone else I know.” He jerks his thumb at the red haired Miracle and Akaashi nods, since his team had been teasing him all morning about that, despite the fact that the names were spelled with completely different kanji. And it is somewhat a relief to think the boy didn’t remember his name because he was pining after him, or something like that.

It’s not that Akaashi doesn’t remember the evening—it was his first and only foray into exploring his sexuality, after all. Dimples isn’t  _exactly_  a gay club, (they are in high school, after all, and Akaashi is pretty sure he couldn’t get into an actual gay club) but it was an open secret amongst certain crowds that it’s where you could reliably hit on someone the same gender without too much risk.

He’d actually been enjoying the flirtation with Takao—it being one of the only times he has actually ever flirted with someone of the same gender. And Takao had made it easy, with his teasing and coaxing despite Akaashi’s shyness (that is ever so often misunderstood for aloofness).

But then Akaashi had received a text from Bokuto asking him for help with volleyball practice and Akaashi had took off running without a second thought. Later, he spent a profound amount of time mentally kicking himself for throwing away a chance at an actual relationship for his big stupid unrequited thing on Bokuto. He was so embarrassed at himself he never did go back to Dimples, and only occasionally wistfully thought about Takao’s friendly flirtation. He consoled himself that he would probably never see Takao again.

Small world.

“I am sorry for running off on you like that,” Akaashi says.

“Oh no worries, that night got super weird for me so being shot down was like, the very least of my concerns.”

“I didn’t—” Akaashi bites off his protestation.

“No?” Takao teases, “I saw you with Mr. Powerful Thighs over there. I can guess as to why I never stood a chance, I’m  _clearly_  not your type.”

Akaashi’s blush is probably epic at this point, and he really hopes Bokuto never hears the nickname “Mr. Powerful Thighs” (largely because Akaashi expects Bokuto would enjoy that nickname, a little  _too_ much). But he can’t resist dishing it right back by saying, “ _Your_ taste is evidently taller, stronger and greener than I, so apparently we were both fooling ourselves.”

Takao cackles and slaps Akaashi on the back. “Oh man, I  _do_  like you. Platonic like! Volleyball clearly has some more entertaining people than I would have expected. We should hang out some time!”

It’s clear Takao does have  _something_  going on with the green-haired Miracle, so they’ll never be anything other than friends. But since Akaashi wouldn’t mind having more gay friends in his life, he swaps phone numbers with Takao before realizing they’d actually done this before.

“I’ll actually call you this time,” Takao promises. “Bring Mr. Powerful Thighs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a request for BokuAka in Designation: Miracle, and I finally decided on who the Fukurodani boy was that Takao was flirting with in "Don't Blink You'll Miss It." 
> 
> This is set during the Special Diet after party =D


	82. Winning

“Are you letting me win?” Furihata accuses.

“Of course not,” Akashi replies automatically, because he would absolutely never  _let_  someone win. But then he blinks, realizing that he  _had_  been doing just that.

“You are!” Furi says indignantly. “Akashi, I don’t want you going easy on me.” And there’s just the barest perceptible trace of _hurt_ in Furihata’s voice, and self-doubt, and Akashi grimaces because he knows full well what kind of accusations Furihata must have to deal with whenever they play basketball against each other. Akashi has faced those accusations from his own teammates, of course, no one believing that he could play fairly against his own boyfriend. It is the kind of logic Akashi always detests, because of  _course_  he is going to do his best for victory, no matter the circumstance.

Of course, when he looks down at the board game, he concludes he must reevaluate that statement.

“Furi, you know I would never concede victory during a true match,” Akashi says, in a tone that is decidedly  _not_  wheedling, but perhaps might have been misconstrued that way, if he were any other man. “But—”

But what, he wonders. But this a game of Othello, not basketball? So it didn’t matter? But since when did victory not  _matter_?

Upon the discovery that Akashi had never played Othello before (“You’ve played shogi and chess and go but not Othello? We have to fix that right away!”) Furihata began teaching Akashi the rules. And then he’d looked so chagrined when Akashi began beating him a game he’d just learned, that Akashi somehow subconsciously adjusted to that and—

He is perhaps more disturbed by this than Furihata is. It is against his very nature to go easy on an opponent.  _Any_  opponent. Had he not once said, “If my own parents stand in my way, I would cut them down?”

(Granted, Masaomi is usually his opponent and number one adversary, so that’s perhaps not the best comparison.)

“I apologize, Furihata,” Akashi says, a bit stiffly. “I will never do this again.”

But then Furihata just laughs, saying, “OK, you don’t have to sound like  _that._  I just—I just want to be your equal, as much as I can be—”

“You are,” Akashi says, “Strangely, I don’t think I could have gone easy on anyone who I—did not view as an equal.”

Which isn’t  _quite_  true.

Akashi doesn’t think he could have gone easy on anyone, unless it was on someone he viewed as his superior.

And Furihata is the only one who has proven time and time again to be superior than Akashi, in so many ways.

“Oh,” Furihata says, blushing, “OK then.” Then, still blushing, he says, “You know, I once read a manga where they played strip Othello. That might have been fun too, if we were more evenly matched in skill. Oh well.”

“Strip…” Akashi’s brain manages to come up, all on his own, how such a game could be played and what that might entail.

 _That_  would be a game Akashi would be very determined to win.

“I’m not sure we should rule that out just yet,” Akashi demurs, causing Furihata to laugh again, in a slightly embarrassed way, before quickly changing the subject.

Which is too bad, because  _that_  would also be a game Akashi wouldn’t mind losing, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was for Akashi to let Furihata win something =D


	83. Lazertag

“Kuroo said it was a good way to team build,” Daichi says, looking down at the plastic gun-shaped object in his hands with a rather doubtful expression. Now that he’s actually here, in the lazertag arena, it actually all feels… kind of ridiculous. Now he’s wondering if maybe Kuroo was pranking him. (It wouldn’t be the first time…)

“No no, this is a good idea!” Sugawara says enthusiastically. “It’s good for us to to relax and do something fun as a team everyone once—”

“I AM GOING TO SHOOT EVERYONE IN THE FACE!” Tanaka shouts.

“NOT IF I SHOOT EVERYONE’S FACE FIRST!” shouts Nishinoya.

“That’s not how lazertag is played,” Tsukishima says, to empty air, since no one but Yamaguchi is listening to him. “The face isn’t a viable target, you can only—oh, never mind.” Then he gets a peculiar gleam in his eyes and says, “How about we divide the teams up by years?”

“Why?” Daichi says suspiciously, because if Tsukishima is _volunteering_ to be on the same team as Kageyama and Hinata, clearly he’s up to something.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Asahi says, “We don’t want to be divided like that.”

“What’s the matter, afraid of the humiliation of losing to your kouhai?” Tsukishima asks.

Daichi’s eyebrow twitches. He knows he’s being baited. He knows that. Any reasonable person would know that.

“BRING IT ON, FIRST YEAR,” Tanaka yells.

*

The Second Years go down first before anyone really knows what’s happening. Ennoshita and Narita manage to make it to Third Year territory to pass on a warning before the lights on their chests flicker out abruptly.

(Ennoshita “dies” very theatrically. Gasping for breath, and clutching Asahi’s hand to tell him to “avenge” him. Asahi is practically in tears but then abruptly gets shot three seconds later).

*

“Daichi-san,” Kiyoko volunteers. “I think you forgot something critically important.”

Daichi, still wondering where the heck the shot came from that took out Suga, is just about to ask what she means by that before he too, is taken out by a shot from nowhere.

The entire game lasts about three minutes.

*

“Wooo! I win! I got more than you, Kageyama!”

“Dumbass! You got an earlier start! Rematch, right now!”  
  
“You guys are on the same side…” Yachi says, futiley.

Daichi glares at Tsukishima. All the First Years are still in the game, and while Daichi knows it was Hinata and Kageyama taking everyone out, he blames this on Tsukishima.

“You forgot Hinata was a trained assassin, didn’t you?” Tsukishima says, far too slyly than any First Year has the right to be.

“I didn’t _forget_ ,” Daichi says, even though he completely had. “I just didn’t think you could convince Hinata to use his… skills.”

“This was so easy,” he hears Hinata crow at the other First Years, “You just have to point in the general direction!”

“Kageyama was an added bonus,” Tsukishima says, “Once he figured out Hinata was good at this game, he took it as a personal challenge.”

“Rematch!” Kageyama is still insisting in the background. “I want a rematch, right now! I’ll get more than you this time.”

“This kind of takes the fun out of this game,” Yamaguchi says.

Daichi continues to scowl at Tsukishima, since at least _he_ knows who really won this game. “No more lazertag!” he shouts at the rest. “We’re playing something else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I wrote that other Haikyuu lazertag short, there was a request for a D:M lazertag short, and I still stuck with Haikyuu.


	84. Truth or Dare

“You get that we’re not actually grade school girls anymore, right? This is a training camp, not a slumber party” Otsubo says. “This is decidedly against the dignity of the Shutoku team—”

This pronouncement is met with a series of “boos” and hisses. 

“Are you just getting out of stripping naked? Because, come on, Captain, don’t be a wuss,” Miyaji says.

“I had to eat those disgusting olives,” Kimura puts in. “I still don’t want to know how old those were. You have to strip naked.”

“Fine, but I hate you all,” the captain says, taking off his clothes. Takao promptly wolf whistles. “Can it, Takao, or I’m making you run laps next practice,” Otsubo says.

“How’d you know it was me?” Takao says indignantly, since the captain currently had his shirt over his head.

“I was fairly certain it wasn’t Midorima,” Otsubo says dryly. “Also, if Nakatani catches me at this, I’m making you _all_ run laps. Hundreds of them.” But, without much further ado, the captain finally fulfills the extent of his dare and runs once around the building of their training camp, and then returns, only slightly red from embarrassment but no less winded for the brief exercise. “Alright. Takao. Truth or Dare?”

“Truth,” Takao says promptly, perhaps not willing to risk his captain’s revenge.

“If you could make out with anyone in the basketball league _other than_ Midorima, who would it be?”

“Ooooh, _Captain,_ are you trying to get me in trouble with my boyfriend?” Takao says. “You homewrecker, you. It won’t work! Shin-chan knows all about my adoration of Kasamatsu Yukio and his leg supporters! Don’t you, Shin-chan?”

Midorima looks at him like an offended cat. “You didn’t need to phrase it like that.”

“ _Shin-chan,_ ” Takao breathes gleefully, “ _Are_ you jealous?”

“Of course not, fool,” Midorima says.

“Well it’s my turn and I’m picking you, Shin-chan! Truth or dare?”

Midorima just stares at him, and then in a pronounced way says, “Dare.”

Takao pouts. “You’re no fun. Fine. I dare you to… do something _outrageous._ Right here. Right now. Something you would _never_ do at school because it’s something only _fools_ would do.”

Midorima thinks about this for a second, and then reaches over, grabs Takao by his collar, and then proceeds to kiss him _very_ soundly in front of their entire team.

“Oh, quit rubbing in your romance, you stupid couple,” Miyaji shouts over the hoots of the other members of the team. “Kimura, give me a pineapple!”


	85. Zone

It is was never that hard to lose himself.

All things considered, even if Teiko had not trained him to remove all his emotions, even if Akashi has never Ordered him not to feel, even if GM-B452 had never had to take away everything from himself in order to survive and plan, Kuroko Tetsuya probably would have never been a particularly expressive person.

He hadn’t been, even before, Kuroko thinks. So it was easy. All those times in Room 101, Black would retreat further and further inside, to a place where he was surrounded by the dark, a place that was the color of his glow when he used his abilities, the color of shadows.

It was a dark place, and nothing existed but him, and he was the shadow, and nothing hurt.

*

Playing basketball was a bit like returning to that place. _I am a shadow._  And having a light—well, having a light meant he wasn’t alone in that place. 

Kuroko knows that sometimes the imagery sounds a little cheesy, maybe even a little embarrassing. But truthfully, he gets a little irritated whenever someone makes fun of it, especially when it’s about him and Kagami. 

_I made a place for myself in the shadows and he made it OK to be there._

That’s not something he can explain to other people, though. It’s not even something he tries to explain to Kagami.

*

“What’s it like to enter the Zone beyond the Zone?” Kuroko asks one day, as they’re lying in bed together. It’s always been something he genuinely wanted to know.

But, against all logic, Kagami blushes at the question. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Entering the Zone?” Because he’s fairly certain Aomine or Murasakibara or Akashi would not be blushing.

“Well, it’s just—it’s you.”

Kuroko looks at him, confused.

“The Zone beyond the Zone, I mean. It’s like—falling in a dark place, where there’s nothing but shadows. And then there’s you, and you’re opening a door. You know, Kuroko, you always talk about how you’re a shadow and stuff, but honestly, sometimes I think you shine brighter than anyone.”

And there’s nothing for him to say to that, nothing for him to do but to press in closer to Kagami’s body and bury his face in Kagami’s warmth and think how everything is shadows and light and it doesn’t matter who is what so long as they’re there together.


	86. College

If Kasamatsu Yukio could go back in time, it would be to the moment of his senior year in high school, when he was talking to Imayoshi Shouichi after a practice game.

“Oh, you’re going to T University, too?” Imayoshi said, “You got a house yet?”

“No, I thought maybe I’d try campus living first but,” Kasamatsu trailed off.

“But it’s more expensive,” Imayoshi finished, “I hear you. Okamura’s getting a house, did'ja know? Since he’s movin’ from Akita and what not, his parents thought it would be easier to buy a house down here. I’ll be rentin’ from him. We’re lookin’ for a third, you want in?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Kasamatsu said, at the time thinking that it would be much easier to room with people he already sorta knew and who had the same hobbies.

If he could go back in time, he would kick himself in the back and stop himself from making such stupid decisions.

*

“How’s your child bride?” Imayoshi says loudly, interrupting the conversation.

“Stop calling him that,” Kasamatsu hisses.

“What?” says someone from their Econ class.

“Kasamatsu’s datin’ a high school student, didn’t you know?” Imayoshi says slyly.

Two girls who overhear them give Kasamatsu a very dirty look.

“TWO YEARS. IT IS A TWO YEAR DIFFERENCE,” Kasamatsu shouts.

“Dude, respect,” says their classmate, lifting his hand to fistbump.

“Don’t lump me in the same group as you,” Kasamatsu snaps. 

“Hey man, don’t be like that, nubile high school girls, I get it.”

Imayoshi snickers and Kasamatsu thinks about how much he hates his roommates.

*

“This is my roommate, Kasamatsu, he’s dating a supermodel,” Okamura introduces loudly. Okamura, Kasamatsu has come to realize, does everything loudly.

“That doesn’t have to be the first thing you say about me all the time,” Kasamatsu says, punching Okamura in the arm.

“ _You’re_ dating a supermodel?” Okamura’s friend asks, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

“Only a regular model,” Kasamatsu mutters.

“Dude, if I was dating a model, that would be the first thing I tell people all the time, to everyone, repeatedly,” Okamura says, punching Kasamatsu in the arm back. “I’m doing you a favor!”

“Do me less favors!”

*

“So,” Miyaji says, “Kise, huh? Does he ever, you know, use his powers?”

“All the time,” Kasamatsu says, frowning. Miyaji doesn’t live with them– he chose to live at his parents’ house to save money—but he’s over all the time and it often feels like Kasamatsu has a third roommate. “Didn’t Midorima ever use his?”

“No, I mean, does he ever— _you know_ —shapeshift into other people while you’re…” Miyaji let’s that dangle and then waggles his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh my God! No! What is _wrong_  with you in Shutoku? That’s the first thing Takao asked!”

“Knew that kid was my kouhai for a reason,” Miyaji says, very nonchalant. “Seriously? Never? If I was dating someone who could turn into any idol at any given moment I would—”

Kasamatsu throws a pillow at him.

*

“Senpai,” Kise pouts, “I’m not sure I like the fact that you live with so many other men.”

Kasamatsu looks at Kise with a deadened expression, feeling his soul shrivel up a little inside. “I hate these guys. They are the worst.”

“Nooo,” Kise wails, “That’s just what you thought about me when we lived together! Senpai!”

Kasamatsu buries his face in his hands and questions all his life choices.

“Oh, the challenges of dating a younger man,” Imayoshi says, strolling by.

“Shut up. I hate you. Die.”

**Author's Note:**

> I love getting prompts and answering prompts but was somewhat getting to the point where I had to admit to myself that if I wanted to keep doing this, the stories had to be shorter. So. I instigated a new policy of very short stories! Also I am temporarily not accepting new prompts, because I have a *lot* to write and I needed to do so for my own health. But I am still writing these shorts regularly and they can always be found first on my tumblr, umisabaku.tumblr.com! =D 
> 
> (As usual, I am not tagging warnings, because I'm not always sure what's going to go in them, but it will be very much like what happens in the rest of the universe-- mix of angst and fluff but nothing ever too dark).
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading more stories in this universe! It is so lovely that people are interested in reading more in this world and it's so much fun. Comments and kudos make me incredibly happy, but thank you everyone just for reading =D


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